How Do You Tend Your Garden?

[GregoryBowen]

How Do You Tend Your Garden?

This Is my question today….When I speak of your garden, You could relate it to your business….So how do you tend to your business?…..Businesses are similar to gardens….You decide everything about your garden…..Size, shape….What your going to grow….vegetables or flowers….fruit maybe….what kind of vegetables or flowers or fruit……The location of your garden is….. and how your going to tend to it…..who is your garden for?…..Are you growing your garden for yourself?….Family?……Maybe a whole community?…..Are you the only one going to tend to this garden?….or are others involved with your garden…..a coop maybe, where a lot of people are helping and going to reap the benefits…..All these things have to be thought out before you even break the ground to grow anything…….Is this garden going to sustain you by providing most of your food or income?….or is it going to be a fun thing for you because you like the smell of fresh turned dirt and the feel of the soil in your hands…and the ability to nurture something beautiful……All of these things are valid thoughts and considerations…..Maybe you are planning to start small and get bigger as you grow as a gardener…..or Maybe you are an expert at gardening and love to produce a huge garden that you tend to full time by yourself……The choices are only limited by your imagination and abilities and resources……

Are You Setting Yourself Up To Fail?

Sometimes we set ourselves up to fail, by just having a knee jerk reaction to a thought we may have had….”Hey….I’m going to grow a garden …..and I’m going to do it right now!”……Then we rush outside with a shovel and turn over a bunch of sod throw some seeds at the fresh exposed dirt and go back inside and watch it from the window for the rest of the day…….”yup ….nothing growing yet….I knew It wouldn’t work!”…..”Tomorrow, I will get some miracle grow and put it on my new garden, that will do it!”…….So we rush out and buy some miracle grow and put it on the garden and go back inside ….Back to staring out the window……”Heck!…..That didn’t work either!”….”I know…..Maybe I need a book!”….”That’s what I need….a book!”…….So we rush out the next day, buy a book and get back to the garden……we stand out in the garden and open the book and start to read….”wow,…. There is a lot to this gardening stuff……I think I will try again tomorrow!”……Then we lose interest and never look out that window again……I have been guilty of of not looking into things before I jump in with both feet myself……Once in a great while I get lucky and have success ….but most of the time ……none…..Especially with my garden (business)

So How Do We Prevent Garden Failure?

Well….First ….A knee jerk reaction to anything hardly ever is a wise choice….So…When we hit on a thought that we may want to act on…..Think it out even more…..Get more information…..Educate yourself…….I don’t mean You have to go get a degree in horticulture, or business…….Plenty of people are very successful at gardening without going past 8th grade…..Business too for that matter…..but information, experience and patience are very important when you garden……What I did was I found somebody with experience, that was willing to teach me about gardening…..A Mentor….I spent a lot of time in his garden, with him there…..asked questions and learned ….Then, I had an understanding …and gained even more understanding by helping in his garden when I could ….or if he needed a little help……That way I had the process in my mind that I knew worked…and I follow that process to this day……Sometimes my gardening mentor comes into my garden and helps me…..While we work ….he throws out bits of advice that I might try……or he tells me when something I tried seemed to be a good idea and may try it himself…….Now both of our gardens are doing well….and we both get to admire our own work and each others and the part that we shared the work…….It became obvious that the more time you get to spend tending your garden the better your garden becomes…….And the process gets easier as you grow as a Gardener…..and your process becomes your own as you gain experience that allows you to try other things…….pretty soon your garden is flourishing

Make sure You Tend Your Garden First!

Part of human nature is a need to share our new found successes ……we did something we feel was a great thing and we want to shout it out from the mountain top…..This is a good thing for the most part….Just remember there are as many methods of gardening (or business) as there are gardens….some good, some great..others ok…..and even others that may be bad for us…..all opinion……The key here is to tend your garden first….Then share your abilities with others…..Don’t be offended if your methods aren’t followed by the person you shared it with….let them see what your doing, and keep tending your garden…..If your garden is struggling, be open to try some small thing to see if it works better…..maybe your process needed a little tweak here or there…..but keep tending your own……eventually others will see your garden growing and growing….and they will come to you, to see what your doing…..Patience is key here……If your garden only consists of one tomato plant….tend to it until it becomes the best tomato plant there is!….Don’t let the others garden make you wish so much that you go out and pull up your tomato plant…..only to plant cucumbers,…..and have to start over……We as humans tend to envy others and not realize what we already have to nurture…….find what works for you!……Then grow the garden……If you have one tomato plant doing good …..maybe its time to plant another and see if you can get two to grow…..then add cucumbers….one step at a time until you get to the point that your garden is as big as you want over time….then maintain….. mastering every aspect of your personal garden!

Keep Your Garden Free Of Weeds!

This is a huge part of gardening….Keep all the weeds and dead plants out of your garden….Nurture the plants that you intend to use …..We tend to overwhelm ourselves with un needed weeds that seem to volunteer in our garden….and learn the difference between a weed and what you are trying to grow….some weeds look pretty inviting…..some of us end up cultivating weeds and nothing else…..Gardener Be where!

Don’t Tend Others Garden Until Your Asked

That’s right…..It is fine to let others know that you are willing to help others with their garden……just don’t go there with the intent of fixing them….some folks want to learn on there own…..let them know your available…..maybe offer up some advice….but keep it casual…..remember its their garden…..and if they ask you to help them with their garden, they may not use your methods themselves….and if they do they may tweak your methods making them their own…..If and when you do get asked to help someone with their garden……Don’t be the only one in their garden….In other words….Don’t become their gardener!……You have heard the saying ….”give a man a fish and feed him for a day….Teach the man to fish and feed him for a life time!”….. This applies here….

So, If Your Garden Just Isn’t Where You Thought It Should Be…

So if your garden isn’t where you thought it should be…..Take a long hard look in the mirror, and ask yourself…..”Was there anything I forgot in my process of gardening?”……”Did I follow the methods of my mentor”…..”Did I spend enough time tending my garden?”…….”Did I really allow enough time for my garden to grow?”…….”Am I the one tending my garden?…or am I waiting for someone else to tend it for me?”……”Do I spend more time tending others garden, neglecting my own?”…..answer yourself honestly and I bet you will find the cause of your garden to suffer…

So….How Do You Tend Your Garden?

Does this rant from an old truck driver help any?…..How does this article fit with your business garden….Let me know what you think in the comments below….If this article might be helpful don’t for get to share it with others….Gardens like businesses, can be profitable in many ways besides monetarily….One way is by helping serve others…..Motivating Others by Serving Others….You Can Too ……Smokey