Do the Work

I walk by the same line of trees several times a week. It was just an empty patch of dirt until a few years ago, when the owners planted a long row of 2 ft. tall arborvitae. I remember laughing at how tiny they were and how long it would take for them to provide the screening the owners were hoping for.

As time went by, the trees grew. Of course, I didn't really notice the growth at first as I was focused on the two trees that didn’t make it. They grew brown and shriveled up, but the owner who was caring for the trees replaced them until something new could thrive in its place. Eventually there were no more brown trees and so I guess I stopped noticing. I kept walking, they kept growing, and I forgot about them until today. For some reason today, they stood out to me. I noticed how much they had grown. How green they were. How full they were. It’s amazing what time does, isn’t it? Time, and work. The line of trees had to be planted, watered, and cared for to grow to the state they are in today.

True noticeable growth is a combination of doing the work and giving it time. 

I was on a call with someone a few weeks ago and I had commented on how I've been wanting to focus on my speaking career for a while now; I told her that it's taken me a while to get to where I am, and I wish I had started sooner. She then reminded me of an old but powerful Chinese proverb: the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.

We can let every day pass us by thinking about the trees we wish we had planted years ago. Or we can do the work, give it time, and a few years from now we'll be able to smile at how much we've grown.