Gain
Revelation
Operate in
Wisdom
Since the change of the season, I just continue to think about growth. I'm excited for the spring buds, and new growth that comes this time of the year. I enjoy spring because it goes from drab to fab, from death to life. Everything around you starts to buzz and you see signs of life peeping its head out again. The dormant becomes active. It's an exciting season when you think about it. It reminds me that the winter that I dread so much is over, and I can begin to enjoy my outdoor space and warm weather.
Growing up it was a tradition that my family would always plant a garden. While my parents called it a "small" garden, I have learned that we really didn't have a "small" garden, it was actually pretty big. My dad took pride in his garden. Our yard and garden was really his pride and joy. He enjoyed spending time in the garden. He took his time with his garden he tended to it carefully. In order to have the beautiful garden he had, there was more to it than tending to the garden. He spent time preparing. He would talk to our neighbors and they would all discuss what they were growing, I remember this being the first experience of real community. Coming together for a common purpose, sharing in the labor, and sharing the reward of the season. The location of the garden was important. He had to think about the soil, and water sources, he had to determine the location where the sun would be the right amount for each seed type he planted. He had to determine of any of the seeds would create vines, because he would need to have lattice for proper growth.
I remember him working long hours on the weekend and in the evening to make sure that the ground was ready for planting. It was so much more than just throwing seeds out into the ground to see what would happen. The garden was carefully planned out, and it didn't just "happen" at certain times of the year, it was a year round process. The beauty of the garden was that even when things weren't growing the ground was being prepared. I know you're probably thinking what does all this have to do with coaching. Well, actually a lot. So many times, we expect immediate results but as you look at the process you will realize it all correlates. My Dad planned, prepared, and then planted with expectation. He know what to expect in each season. He knew that when the harvest was over, it didn't mean that the garden was dead. No, it meant that it was time to prepare for the next season. Each season had a purpose and a certain process that needed to be done for a successful harvest.
In business there are similar patterns. There are times where sales will be higher than others, there will be seasons when you need to be preparing for the next big wave. As a business owner you have to be ready to build, grow, and reap the benefits during the right season. If you are not analyzing your business properly you can be doing the wrong things at the wrong time. If you are in a season of growth and you start to rebuild you will not be as successful. If you are in a season of rebuilding and not seeing results, that is because it isn't harvest season yet. You will have peaks and valleys. You will need to know how to operate successfully in your business in each season. You need to prepare for the growth that will come and have systems in place. Don't be caught off guard by the season.
The same can be said about our individual lives. We want a new career but do nothing to prepare for it, and so when the time comes to interview, we aren't successful. Maybe you want to purchase a new home, and during the planting season you should be doing everything you can to cut costs, but instead you maintain your spending habits. When the time comes to have the money for a down payment, you realize, you don't have it. Maybe it is working out, and you feel like I've worked out for a week and not seen the results I want so you go back to old habits because the results aren't there. A farmer doesn't judge the growth of the garden by the days, he judges by the season. He judges by how the weather has been and how the plant will do in certain situations. He has an idea of the growth he should have but understands that if he doesn't see it immediately he doesn't give up, he waits and continues to tend to the garden. In life we have a tendency to give up too soon. Guilty as charged. For me that happens too. I'm a visionary, so I see the end result before I start and when it takes "too long" I get frustrated and want to give up, but I've learned that anything worth having will take time and attention.
I love things to happen immediately, but rarely does that happen. It takes time to grow yourself, it takes time to grow your business, it take time! The older you get the more mature, the more lessons you have learned, the more you realize the steps that need to be taken to be more successful. When you're young your more of a risk taker, and willing to figure out the process. Regardless of your age, or the age of your business, you have to realize you always want to GROW! You don't want to get stagnant you don't want to wither away, you want to be fruitful and multiply. I want to show you how each season of business, and life is important to the overall results you want to gain.
Let's examine the farming a bit more and see how we can apply it to our lives, and learn to GROW. There are four seasons that a farmer works with, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. During this time there is a 6 step process that they go through. The diagram below shows you the six step process, that can be used in business or personally to continue to see growth. As you go through the process once, the harvest is replicated and each time you learn more about the process, each time you can add another component to what you are doing, but you can expect the outcome of what you've been working on. Each step correlates with a season. You will find based on the illustration of a garden how necessary each step is with each season.
Spring: This is the time of preparation for planting. Keep in mind, this doesn't happen in a day, it is during the season that you do each of these steps in proper order. That is what ensures the best harvest.
Fertilize
Plow
Level the land
Create rows that will allow just the right soil and water combination
Create the wholes
Plant the seed
Cover the seed with dirt
Water
Summer: This is the time of growth. It requires tending to what you've planted to see the end result.
Growth and care Tend
Weed the garden
Fall: This is the time to harvest the crops that have grown. Taking the vegetables off the vines. Once everything is off the vine, you still have a process to finish to ensure next year's garden will yield results.
Harvest the crops
After the harvest you
Burn the ground
plow/fertilize and get the ground ready to rest
Winter: This is the time for REST! It is important that not only do you rest the ground, but your mind and self. Rest is essential to every great harvest. To yield the best results you have cultivated and prepared the ground for rest. This is what you should do in your business, and life regularly. A farmer will not plant on the 7th year to give the ground time to rest fully. That's why you will find most farmers, have sections of their farm in different stages so that they are always producing a harvest even when the ground is resting in one section.
I want to challenge you in your business, and personal life. GROW! Gain revelation and operate in wisdom. It is time for us to learn what season we are in, and how we can yield the best results. Don't give up because the hard work will pay off. You will see the results you are looking for as you continue to push forward and GROW. As you grow, your business will grow. As your business grows you will grow. When you grow, it forces the people around you to grow, or you find a different circle where you continue to grow. Growth never ends. Keep growing.
If you feel stuck and don't know what season you may be in, but you want to GROW, please reach out to us for a free consultation, we would love to work with you, and help you see the results you desire.