Following three days of meetings and workshops at the American Farm Bureau convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico we were sent home with a motivational address by Bert Jacobs, co-founder of the Life Is Good brand. At the closing session Jacobs shared the story of how the $150 million lifestyle brand came to be through all the mistakes and missteps.

In 1989 Bert and his brother, John, began designing their own T-shirts and selling them in Boston and in college dormitories up and down the East Coast. In 1994 following a not-so-successful road trip, they gathered with friends at their apartment unsure of whether to continue their business. Scattered on the walls around the apartment were the latest drawings, including one of a smiling, beret-wearing stick figure riding a bike with the caption, “Life Is Good.”

This one drew considerable favorable attention, so the brothers dubbed him Jake, made up 48 T-shirts and they sold out in one hour. The rest, as Bert said, is history. Today the Life is Good brand can be found in 4,500 retail outlets in the U.S. and 30 countries.

Founded on the principle of optimism, a total of 10 percent of all Life Is Good sales go toward the Life Is Good Kids Foundation, noted Jacobs. However, life wasn’t always so good for the Jacobs family. While they were young Jacobs’ parents were involved in a serious car accident that left his Dad disabled. His father became withdrawn and depressed and that impacted life at home.

Somehow his mother kept an optimistic outlook and each evening at supper Bert and his siblings would answer the questions, “What happened today that was good?” This eventually came back with Jake’s character always espousing that “Life Is Good.”

Jacobs' story left us with a number of tools needed to develop an optimistic mindset that can lead to success on the farm, along with tips on building a vibrant community. Other informative sessions during the convention took a look at the geopolitical and U.S. market outlooks, what the 118th Congress and the Farm Bill could look like, and another special address, this time by Big Kenny Alphin of the country duo “Big and Rich.” A farm kid from Virginia and a Farm Bureau member himself, Alphin shared his story of hard work and determination to make it in Nashville and how his eventual success enabled him to create the “Love Everybody Foundation.”

But our five days in Puerto Rico weren’t all work and no play. With the Isle Verde Beach just two blocks from our hotel we spent a great afternoon soaking up some Vitamin D and rays. A fun thing at this beach was the umbrella and chair vendors. For $5 each you could rent a beach chair and for another $10 you could rent an umbrella and the vendor would carry them to a spot and set them up for you. When you were done you would just leave them there and they would come take them down. We spent another day exploring the San Juan National Historic site. The site includes Castillo San Felipe del Morro and San Cristobal, as well as Fort San Juan de la Cruz, most of the wall that surrounds Old San Juan and the San Juan Gate. Designated as a World Heritage Site in 1983, it is now protected as a unit of the U.S. National Park Service.

Castillo del Morro was built to protect San Juan Bay’s harbor from attack by sea. It was the first good harbor to the New World after a one- to two-month Atlantic voyage from Europe. El Morro dates to 1539, when the Spanish began the fort’s construction.

Castillo San Cristobal was built to guard enemy approaches by land to the walled city of Old San Juan. Construction on San Cristobal began in 1634 and finished in 1790, although modifications were made well into the 18th century. Covering 27 acres, San Cristobal is the largest Spanish fortification built in the New World.

The forts proved their worth in protecting the island as the English attacked El Morro twice, first in 1595 and again in 1598. The Dutch attacked in 1625 and shortly after in 1634 the San Juan city wall was started.

Following the Spanish-American War in 1898 Puerto Rico became a U.S. Territory and remains so today. The forts became part of the San Juan Military Reservation in 1899 and during WWII were used as outposts to watch for German U-boats and other enemy vessels attempting to breach the Caribbean.