I read a post by Jonathon Washburn today and it reminded me about something I have been trying to teach my children.
In his post, Jonathon said "...Real estate sales and business are still very hard. It has also been my experience that everything I attempted to do in business is always 300% harder than I thought it would be when I began." I was glad to hear that things didn't work out exactly like he thought they would, but he didn't give up! It seem to me that "quitting" has become an epidemic in our society today. So that is why I decided to plant a garden.....to teach my children about the Laws of Nature and the Laws of Success.
- Delayed Gratification. When you plant a seed in the ground, it takes weeks if not months before
you get to eat the fruit. You don't get the reward immediately after you put out the work. So many people quit when they are just about to make it over the 'hump' and start reaping the rewards. People in general need to learn more patience. Growing a garden teaches you patience! We ate our first radish out of the garden today, and we planted those about a month ago. Radishes are a quick growing vegetable. Most of our crops are months away from harvest. Do we give up on the peppers, rip them out of the ground and say "This gardening thing doesn't work!" ? Of course not, so why do we do that in our businesses? - Faith. When you plant seeds, you don't know if they will come up or
not! You need to have faith that if you plant enough seeds and take care of them, you will have a harvest. In Real Estate, we don't know which of our prospects will 'bear fruit', but we need to keep trying. If we plant enough prospect 'seeds' we will get buyers and sellers-the sweet fruit of Real Estate.
- Consistency. When you plant a seed, you must almost immediately start watering that seed. But you can't just water the seed here and there whenever you feel like it. Your garden needs to be watered consistently,
weather you feel like it or not! Business is much the same way. The small daily habits are what separate the Top Producers from the Low Producers
- Managing Emotions. In nature, nothing is guaranteed. This is an important lesson to be learned. Sometimes we can do everything right-great soil, great seed, consistent water, ample sun-and then comes a horrible storm that wipes your garden out! And so it is in life and business. Sometimes you can do everything right and the deal may fall through. Don't beat yourself up! Some things are out of your control. Just pick yourself up and start all over again.
- Invest in
Yourself. When you plant a garden, it takes money to buy the seeds, plants, and fertilizer. In business it takes investment in knowledge for you to produce great results! Remember; don't eat your seed wheat!
I grew up on a Potato Farm in Idaho, and I know my childhood farming experiences taught me a lot about living a successful life. As our society has gotten away from it's agricultural roots, we have come up short on some important life lessons.
So if you have children, you may want to consider the following. Go down to Home Depot, buy a pot, some soil, a plant and enjoy the fruits of your labors this summer!
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