Achievement is the result of effort,  dedication, and focus.

Nothing happens overnight.

What is sowing?

The process begins with planting a seed and then spending the time to nourish that seed.

The same rule is applicable for growing a gift.

Growing a gift

Before one can become successful in any endeavor he or she must dedicate the time and effort to grow that gift. One thing is certain,t it is impossible to reap a harvest without sowing seeds.

“As economists like to say, there’s no free lunch. By this, we mean simply that all things we value come at a cost, explicit or implicit” (Frank).

Every opportunity bears a cost.

Every day, you have an option to do something to move toward progress. That opportunity is a seed, that if sown, produces a harvest.

Choosing to deliberately focus on those things that will contribute to growth is akin to sowing good seeds in fertile ground.

Good Seeds

There are 3 important seeds that one must sow in order to excel.

1.Enthusiasm (sunlight)– you have got to be passionate. passion provides the spark that keeps you going.

2. Self- discipline (good soil) –  You have got to be disciplined. ” You discipline yourself to stay with the task until that task is completed” (Ziglar p. 53).

3. Persistence(water)– You have got to be committed to doing the things necessary, consistently, to make it happen.

Think about what comes of a flower that is only watered on occasion.

Summarily, whatever you determine to do you must do so with enthusiasm,  you must discipline yourself to maintain deliberate and unwavering focus, and you must do so persistently (remain committed to the task at hand).

It is a process, but the end result will always be excellence.

Zig Ziglar relays an excellent example of what can happen when one sows good seeds through the story of the Chinese Bamboo Tree in his book. “Developing The Qualities of Success: How to Stay Motivated Volume I.”

“They plant the seed, they water it and they fertilize it—and nothing happens the first year. The second year they water it and they fertilize it and nothing happens. The third year they water it and they fertilize it and nothing happens. The fourth year they water it and they fertilize it, nothing happens. The fifth-year they water it and they fertilize it and sometime during the course of the fifth year, in a period of approximately six weeks, the Chinese bamboo tree grows ninety feet—or thereabout” (p. 115).

As finely illustrated in that story, achievement is the outgrowth of diligence in sowing good seeds.  

The only thing standing between you and achievement is deciding to put in the work to make it a reality,.

” We have to get serious about doing things with our lives” (Ziglar p. 51).

References

Frank, H. Robert. Success and Luck: Good fortune and the Myth of 

     Meritocracy. Princeton University Press 2016.

Ziglar, Zig. Developing The Qualities of Success: How to Stay Motivated

        Volume I. Made for Success Publishing 2014.