Planting Seed

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." -John Maxwell

In many of the books I have read and the speakers I have listened to, each speak of "sowing seeds for the future." And it occurs to me that the by-product of having a positive attitude is the planting of hope and goodness. What starts out as a 'me' adventure turns into a 'for others' epic.

John Maxwell says there is an essential part of your success journey and that is in helping others. Without this, your journey will be lonely and quite a shallow experience. The joy you will receive is hard to describe. Albert Schweitzer said, "...the purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others."

All of this means is that you begin right where you are; doing the little things. That can mean spending more time at home watching television with your kids, spending more quality time with your spouse, encouraging someone at work or volunteering to do something for your community or church. Every little thing you do is the planting of another seed.

And while you are pursuing what your own purpose is, you help others along the way. Danny Thomas (for those of us that go back far enough) would say that "...all of us are born for a reason, but all of us don't discover why. Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It's what you do for others."

Continue the journey for me, for you and more importantly for others. Stay inspired my friends.

A Simple Seed

"Your heart is full of fertile seeds, waiting to sprout." -Morihei Ueshiba

Think back to your grade school science class. Back to the week where you were taught about the basics of a seed. The teacher would have told us the three parts are:

(1) an embryo (dream)
(2) a supply of nutrients for the embryo (attitude)
(3) a seed coat (you)

Now the embryo (dream) is the beginning of what will be a new plant if grown under proper conditions. The embryo has two points of growth; one which will come forth into the light as the stem, the other will remain rooted drawing nourish from the ground.

In order for the dream to be born into something real, seed germination must take place. This is a process by which a seed embryo develops into a seedling. There must be a stirring within to cause the dream to begin its growth into vision and action. There will be an emergence of your vision into the light for others to see.

As this seedling reaches up and outward, the root of the vision must remain firmly planted in good soil. You need to feed yourself in good company, in good advice and in good purpose. Without this good soil, the vision can not be sustained and will soon wither.

As the seed grows and matures, the vision of what was once a dream will be realized. It will produce fruit and more seed. Others will be impacted by the original seed which was at one time just a dream. Growth will be exponential as you reach out even further. And it all started with one small seed (dream).

Inside each of us lay a talent, a purpose, or dream. It is in seeing the vision of the seed inside of us as fruit which starts the process of growth. Look beyond the wall in front of you, the seed coating over your dream. See what is inside where the potential of the seed exists.

Grow your dream and produce the fruit of possibility. And stay inspired my friends.