I recently heard a musician share that when he was a senior in high school, he loved basketball and planned to play in college and then the NBA. However, in practice he went up for a basket, landed on a team member’s foot, and twisted his ankle. He was laid up and could not play for awhile so he invested his extra time by learning to play the guitar. This led to him taking a writing class his freshman year in college and he then began to write songs. He did play basketball his first two years in college but had fallen in love with music. Since then, he has developed a highly successful career in music from those early seeds of learning to play guitar.
Greatness and success do not happen overnight, but instead we cultivate them over time from the seeds we plant. Often these “seeds” or beginnings seem insignificant and are ignored because they do not lead to overnight success. The truth is that there is no overnight success that produces anything of value. Instead, we build success from the actions we take every day to develop the discipline and skill it takes to sustain growth.
Seeds of greatness include things like getting up every morning ready to do your best. Doing so means that you are engaged and ready to invest energy in your work. You have a sense of purpose to life and work that drives you forward, even when things are challenging. There is no “quiet quitting,” instead you make decisions that will allow you to take the next step forward.
Another seed is watching and listening for opportunities to grow personally and as an organization. You cannot achieve success unless you are learning from others who are further on the path than you are presently. The most successful people are constantly learning and applying those lessons. Even if they have disappointments, they learn from them and keep going.
Success comes when we strategically plan to reach our goals, as well as act on those plans. I have yet to meet influential people who are sitting in their office waiting for the phone to ring. Instead, they are out seeking the next client, networking with other leaders, and implementing steps to growth.
What seeds are you planting? Choose wisely and watch remarkable things happen!
