Know the Difference Between a Pie and a Farm When Setting Your Goals

“Those who sign on and depart the system of anxious scarcity become the history makers in the neighborhood.” —Walter Brueggemann

What do we do when we don’t have enough money to reach our goals?

Maybe we’re thinking about it all wrong.

When I walk clients through the six mile markers of building a small business, we focus on creating S.M.A.R.T. goals—goals that are Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, and Timely. Every organization needs clear goals to move from where they are to where they want to be.

We all have big dreams for what our organizations could become. So we plan. We set goals. We work hard to achieve them.

But here’s what usually happens: as soon as we start talking about goal setting, anxiety creeps in. Why? Because people begin to measure their goals against the resources they don’t have. Suddenly, everything feels overwhelming—and often, that leads to paralysis.

The truth is, a small shift in perspective about our resources can go a long way in helping us not only move forward but thrive.

I’m not talking about being blindly positive or overly optimistic. I’m a believer in realism. We need clear vision—not rose-colored glasses—to reach our goals. But realism doesn’t mean scarcity. Sometimes it just means seeing things differently.

1. The Myth: The Economy is Like a Pie

Many people believe the economy is like a pie: there's only so much to go around. Every time we spend, we lose a slice. A need comes up—another slice gone. An emergency? There goes half the pie. Eventually, all that’s left are crumbs. And the goals? Still unmet.

That perspective breeds fear and scarcity.

2. The Truth: The Economy Can Be Like a Farm

Yes, our resources are limited. But what if, instead of seeing them as slices of a pie, we viewed them like seeds on a farm?

If you eat the pie, it’s gone. But if you plant seeds, you can grow something more. When we invest our resources wisely—time, money, relationships—they can multiply.

As my friend Michael Smith says:

“The success of any endeavor is dependent on how well scarce and precious resources are invested for their highest and best use in pursuit of a goal.”

The key isn’t always having more—it’s using what we already have in the most impactful way.

3. Fitting a Square Peg in a Round Hole

In the film Apollo 13, the astronauts face a life-threatening problem: carbon dioxide is building up in the cabin. They have to create a new filter system using only what they already have on board—items like duct tape, parts from flight manuals, and tubing.

At first glance, they didn’t have what they needed. But when they looked at all their resources, even the non-obvious ones, they found a solution.

They didn’t have everything—but they had enough.

4. “Farming” (Investing) Your Resources

I’m not a great farmer, but I admire how farmers think. They understand that the real power is in what they plant and how they nurture it.

In my neighborhood, almost one in four people experience food insecurity. A few of us wanted to do something about it, so we started the Midtown Community Development Foundation. Our idea? Build an urban farm.

We had no money.
We had no land.
That’s a problem.

But then we started thinking like farmers—looking at all of our resources, not just the obvious ones.

What we did have was a relationship. Over the years, we’d built a strong connection with a local hospital. We served the same people—us with food, them with medicine. We realized they had a plot of land in the middle of the city that wasn’t being used.

So we asked:
“Can we lease your land? We don’t have money, but we’ll grow healthy vegetables for your food-insecure patients.”

They loved the idea. Not only did they let us use the land (about ¾ of an acre, with irrigation, water, and electricity), they also donated the first $10,000 to get started. Soon others joined in. By the end of the first year, we’d raised nearly $90,000.

We harvested our first crops within a few months, began preparing for the next planting season, and now at year three we have six (6) small farms and have given away the equivalent of over 180,000 meals since last June!

At first, it felt like we were trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. But when we looked again, we realized we had everything we needed—because we had invested in one of our most powerful resources: relationships.

And that investment? It has multiplied—literally and figuratively—many times over.

Final Thought

Scarcity doesn’t have to stop us. But it does challenge us to see differently, think creatively, and invest wisely. When we start looking at our resources like seeds, not slices, we begin to build something truly sustainable.

Let’s stop scrambling for pie—and start planting farms.