Start Planting
I'm sorry, but I'm going to cut straight to the chase... we are living in a "here and now society." To be completely honest, it's kind of annoying.
We have an idea or a desire and we want it to manifest itself almost instantaneously. If I tap through my Instagram promoted ads they all revolve around 'how to get rich quick,' 'how to become an influencer instantly,' 'how to make $10K this month,' and other click-baitey titles that demand our attention and satisfy our craving for instantaneous success.
One of my favorite quotes is,
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees,under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”
I'm a fan of this quote for two reasons, the first being the altruistic theme - that our gifts (synonym for talents or ideas) are meant to be just that, gifts, for others. Secondly, it captures the time element required to scale your impact. The seeds you plant today will not 'auto-magically' be a tree tomorrow.
What if I told you that you, yes YOU, were born filled with seeds? These seeds might be talents, skills, or ideas. Some of us were born with many seeds, and some of us were born with a few - but at the end of the day we all have them.
All throughout January, I've heard the ideas many of you plan to execute this year, the goals you've set, and the plans you've made. They're FIRE ... just don't let them be FYRE (If you haven't watched the Netflix documentary yet, you're sleep). Naturally, the hype around our ideas fizzles away throughout the year or we do what we can to make them happen at the snap of a finger, and that usually backfires.
Now, what good is a seed that goes unplanted or is not cultivated? There is no fruit and there is no beauty. You selfishly keep your ingenuity, your vision, and your importance to yourself. We all lose when you don't plant your seeds.
Above all else, this is your call to action.
If you've been holding on to your seed that is telling you to sing, plant it.
If you are holding a seed with a business idea, plant it.
If you have a seed to differentiate yourself in the workplace, plant it.
When you don't act on your visions or put your desires on a shelf to revisit later, the world misses out.
Although many of us have been planting and harvesting our seeds over the years, we have to acknowledge that some have grown, some have blossomed, and some... well died (morbid, my bad). The growth of the seeds we plant has everything to do with the environment in which we plant them, how we care for them, the plants (or weeds) around them, and in what season we plant them in. Some things are in our control, and others aren't. Life in a nutshell.
Be mindful of the company you keep and the season you're planting BUT keep planting and keep caring for your seeds - because an idea as small as a mustard seed can grow into something nourishing and impactful (for those with the bible app go ahead and visit Mark 4:1-30).
Oh, yea. Another thought, one seed has the potential to create a whole forest. It's true, biology told me so. For those skimming, one seed can become a whole forest. *mind blown gif* What you sow is infectious and contagious, plant positively and cultivate responsibly. There's a whole lot of power and potential inside you.
So, hone that skill.
Start that business.
Write that book.
Play that instrument.
Scale your impact.
Plant that seed.
If I haven't run this metaphor into the ground yet:
know that every seed you sow might not grow into the plant you envisioned. It may be that you planted it in the wrong season, planted it in rocky terrain, or planted among toxic weeds. For every seed that doesn't survive, learn from it to better cultivate the next - something is sure to blossom.
