Planning for the bounty of the harvest

(reposted from earlier blog)

I love spring and I love to garden. With the gentle warm breeze comes a feeling of renewal. We begin to see evidence of this renewal in the budding of the trees and the greening of the grass. It is during this time of the year, in late winter, I begin looking at seed catalogs and deciding on the things I want in my garden in the spring.

Remembering the successes and failures in my past experiences helps me to choose seeds, which will improve my end results. To help me do this I keep a journal each season of the brand and type of seeds I planted. I record how well they did when I harvest from my garden. This process allows me to select the appropriate seeds and not repeat mistakes I may have made. Not only in the seed selection but also at how well I managed my garden.

There is great satisfaction of putting seeds in the ground and seeing the plants burst through the soil. In many ways it is a wondrous event. From such a small seed grow plants, which produce magnificent flowers or plentiful vegetables. Planting and harvesting can be very rewarding.We can receive the same great rewards in our business. We just have to learn how to sow the seeds and reap the harvest. The planting begins with planning. And now is the time to be planning.

For many small business owners this is the slower time of the year. It makes it the perfect time to begin planning for your future success. Just like me and my garden now is the time to be selecting the ‘right seeds’. What are those things, which will grow and bear fruit in your business? Look at what has been productive for you in the past and look at ways to improve on its success.

Evaluate what has not worked well or where you may need to add to your marketing plan to improve your results. You should ask questions such as, "Where do we need to increase cash flow?" "What product lines and services are the most fruitful and how do we replicate and improve on those successes?" "Where have we not done so well, and why?" "What tasks seem to get in the way of my success and how do I put my focus back on my success?"

Answering these questions and creating a plan to address the changes needed to improve your success can help you become more satisfied with your end results. With this in mind…Plan, Plant, Reap and Enjoy the bounty of your harvest

Making Dreams Real

Each of us has that one thing deep inside us which we feel is the one thing we can accomplish. It may a vocational achievement, a hidden talent yet to be discovered by the outside world or a desire to use our creative energies to better others lives.

The key is to make your dream an actionable goal. Break it down into small attainable steps. Allow it to be fluid enough that you can adjust along the path to achievement. Give yourself time to explore your dream and find time to work towards your goals to make it real. Give yourself permission to dream. It is not bad or should not male you feel guilty to visualize and make your dream real.

As we dream and create a system for making the dream reality we begin to bring vision to our purpose and understand more clearly how the reality will impact our lives and change us in a positive way.

What happens when we realize that one thing is not attainable? When time and or circumstances make it no longer possible for it to happen? What then? For many they give up, let the dream die or hang on to false hope.

To me it is about allowing our dreams to evolve as our lives evolve. When we grow away from one dream there is always another to replace it, be free to dream.

Stacks of memories

She had the garage packed to the rafters. So too were the backroom and the basement. A lifetime of accumulation much of it had no value to anyone but her. Amazingly she could put her hand on anything she was looking for. There was no catalogue or filing system, just the memory of the old woman.

A tiny path was carved through the stacks of magazines, books and assorted boxes. Each stack had a story of a part of the old woman’s life. Boxes filled with various hobbies and interests. Here there is a stack of boxes full of handicrafts used to create hand painted Christmas ornaments. Over there are bags full of yarn used on her loom to make blankets, rugs and pillow shams. Back in the corner is a stack of old National Geographic magazines. Next to them is another stack of magazines, Better Homes and Gardens and Ladies Home Journal.

Oh, and there is the boxes of Avon bottles from years of selling and collecting. Each stack, each pile and each box tells a story of this special lady. Stories she was always willing to share and as she begins to talk she would remember one more thing she had in the stacks. In a few minutes she would be back with one more thing to share and show.

The stories were as endless as the eclectic items in the accumulated stacks. She tells her stories with a deep raspy voice and a sparkle in her eyes.

Over the years I was on the receiving end of many of these stories. She is my grandmother. Now in her ninety-first year she is likely coming to the end of her life. The years have caught up with her. She has been fighting the good fight but the prognosis is not good.

My memories of her include spending several days with her and my late grandfather when I was in grade school. She introduced me to Apple Jacks which to this day is one of my favorite breakfast cereals.

Grandma was never known for being punctual getting holiday dinners to the table. Often it was several hours past the regular mealtime of my brothers, sister and me. Stomachs growling and nothing to tide us over until the meal was on the table we learned to be patient and quiet.

One of the favorite things to do at grandmas was using the Viewmaster to see photographs of the world and our favorite cartoon characters. It was stored on a special shelf in the bookcase along with a few other small toys we could play. Her house was mostly a hands-off place for small children. There were lots of breakables and other items which were strictly off-limits.

Grandma showed us love in her own way. In ways just now as an adult I have come to appreciate. If these are her final days my prayer is she will go peacefully. I will miss her greatly. The stacks and piles will be left to be sorted I am sure the items will bring back stories and laughs, joys and sorrows and most of all memories of a lifetime of accumulation.

A better week

I feel compelled to write for the sake of writing. The past week has been filled with ups and downs, good and bad. It has been a week of frustration and life lessons.

It has been a week to swallow my pride and allow people to help me in ways I never expected. It has been a week of prayer, of asking God to clear my head of the negatives, to hold the demons of the world at bay and to allow me to heal spiritually and emotionally.

From this past week I have emerged surprisingly content and with a true sense of relief. God continues to show up in surprising places.

The lights are on

It is a custom at the funeral home in my small community to turn on the outside lights any time there is a body at the home. It is their way of telling the community someone has passed away.

So, anytime the lights come on outside the funeral home there is great speculation as to who died. Then the gossip begins for the coffee drinkers at the local fast food place and those who sit at the liar’s wall at the truck stop. Questions, answers and speculation to how they died, why they died and what could have extended their lives. It doesn’t matter if they were nine or ninety, everyone has an opinion.

And most have a story about the deceased. Funny, sad, loving, truth or legend, the stories flow. Recently the lights have been on a lot giving the gossip groups plenty of fodder to chew on.

Behind each story is a person. A friend, a relative, a stranger we may only know by name or reputation never the less they are all people who have made some impact on our community. This is one of the great things about small town living. People care, they care enough to talk, to share, to laugh and to mourn the passing of one of our own.

Today I am going to the funeral of the father, of my best friend in high school. It is the fifth funeral in two weeks of people I have known and shared my life. Roy was very well known in the community. He never met a stranger and always had a story to share. One of his hobbies was making buttons. He was happy to tell you about all of the buttons he had made to recognize school athletic team accomplishments, holidays and special events.

Today I think Roy is probably at the Pearly Gates handing out buttons which read, “Welcome to Heaven”.

For now the lights are off at the funeral home. And the watch will begin again until the lights come on and the question is raised again. “Who died?” Certainly it will be someone we all know something about and we will have a story to tell about them.

In need of prayer

There have been very few times in my life when I felt I could not pray. Recently it has been very much true for me. All of the pressures of my current situation have flooded my mind and my spirit with feelings of despair and frustration.

When I do pray I find it to be words of the same despair and anger I feel. I question where God is in all of this. After all, I believe I have followed his call and have been true to his will for my life. So am I supposed to be miserable? I have sacrificed allot to follow his call. What I didn’t expect is how extremely painful this process would be. I don’t think it is what I had in mind when I started on this journey. If I have been so true and faithful why am I so miserable?

This is maybe my most difficult admission, especially in a public forum. I get very discouraged when my financial situation is rough. I realize I am not the Lone Ranger in this. There are many in very difficult situations. For me I have always measured my success to a certain level, on my ability to make money. When money gets tight I get scared. I get down on myself and feel like I am failing.

Lately those walls have been tightening around me. My divorce, mediation, covering monthly and long-term financial obligations, managing a fledgling business though a serious recession and the fear of the future have all created a very heavy burden for me.

My brain understands what God wants me to do but my heart is so full of fear for the future I can’t seem to let Him in. Words seem hollow, even scripture doesn’t seem to making an impact right now.

I know I am not unique but also know it is on my heart to ask for your prayer, the prayers of your friends and the prayers of strangers.