The Law of Seed

"You reap your harvest after you do the work." You dig the soil and water the seed (effort), wait a while (patience) and then you pick your beans. Effort + patience = results.

This principle is often lost on people.
They say: "If I plant beans today, what will I get back tomorrow?"
And the answer is "Wet bean seeds."

The law of the seed says: "You plant today, and you harvest... LATER!" Plant beans now, pick beans in four months. When everybody grew their own food, people probably understood this concept better. But this the age of instant noodles.

Fred says: "If I have a decent job, then I would really work hard. But all I do is wash dishes, so to heck with it." Wrong, Fred! If you become the best dish washer in town, someone will notice you, or someone will promote you, or you'll feel good about yourself that you'll one day go and do something you really want to do.

Effort first, harvest second. It's a principle. You can't reverse the process. Mary says: "Promote me, and then I'll quit sleeping on the job." Frank says: "Pay me more and I'll stop being sick." Jane says: "If I had a good marriage, I'd be nice to my husband."

Another lesson we learn in the garden: when you plant a dozen bean seeds, you don't get a dozen bean plants. Fred plants his bean seeds, some get burned up, some get blown away, the bugs get a few, the birds take three or four. Fred is left with two little bean plants, and he says: "It's not fair!"

Well, it's Life.

To find even a few good friends, you begin with a lot of acquaintances. To find the ideal employee, you interview fifty. To find a few regular customers, you begin with a hundred.

Many of your ideas, employees. and even your friends will get blown away or taken away by the birds. This is not something you fight, it's something you understand. It's something you prepare for.



- Andrew Matthews