Seasons of Life – Seasons in Business

By Veronique C

Nature gives us clues on the change of seasons. Seasons happen… its nature in action. Maybe differently in tropical areas, yet there are hints even in the tropics that change is happening. Seasons are also natural laws that govern our physical lives. You can debate these natural laws all you want, yet they are real, they happen. Either go “with the flow of nature in action” or you get caught in its tidal wave of destruction when you resist what is natural… change.

Going with the “natural law of flow” is a choice you have to make daily. A choice to allow nature and its laws to help you or resist. Those are your only choices, yet it still is “your” choice.

Let say you refuse to believe in or trust the “Law of Gravity“, does the law change through your lack of trust in it, no. If you jump from a plane with no parachute what happens? Do you stay statues quo with the height when you jumped? No! Why not? The “Law of Gravity”. It exists if you believe in it or not. It takes over and will take you down until you hit something that stops you dead in your fall.

What about the “Law of the Harvest”? If you plant “20″ acres of soy beans, you will not reap “100″ acres of something different. If you’re thinking how stupid, yet many expect to reap what they do not sow. They become confused when they don’t get what they want because they ‘THINK’ they are outputting time and energy and therefore “should” get the results they want. SORRY… NOT NATURE. Think about it. A farmer does not wonder or get confused on what his harvest is going to be, he knows. He knows because he knows what he planted, what he had to do to “nurture” his crop to grow, then he had to give it time to grow, then he picks the harvest. The “Law of Harvest” is as reliable as the “Law of Gravity” when it comes to bringing us to a solid footing of what is real… not illusionary. Natures “Law of Harvest” is finite, we reap what we sow. If what you are reaping is NOT what you want… know what you are reaping is what you are sowing, period.

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Harvesting the vegetable farm. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In business I often hear individuals expressing major disappointments, complaining that they don’t understand what is happening because they “think” they are doing all the right things therefore they feel life is “unreasonable” or “down right unfair” because they do not know why bad “things” are happening to them. They are surprised by others:

1. Lack of real commitment.

2. Turnover being high and what seems to be never ending.

3. (My personal favorite) Revenue is up and down… and appears to shrink again… after being up.

4. Everyone undermines each other… there is no team work.

5. There is no fun at work… there’s no joy in the entire process of coming to work doing the necessary tasks and building successfully.

Why are these common statements caught in what appears as a gerbil wheel of a lot of energy output with no positive lasting results? Because the focus is on the state of a situation that we feel requires an immediate action or attention, verses what is really important in sowing an action that follows natures laws. I will fully agree that leadership, either in the home as a parent or in business requires sound direction and ongoing attention. There is always some detail, or problem that requires our attention. Times are always changing, its nature in action… but one absolute reality, a truth that remains constant about life and leadership and a law that will never change – we reap what we sow for better or for worse. Do we sow judgment, blame, guilt or shame… into our choices… personally, professionally or organizationally? Or do we sow unconditional accountability in taking command in the fact that it is our choices, for better or worst that we are reaping.

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Spring Flowers (Photo credit: NixBC)

Use nature to guide your choices. Start with Spring. This is the time to invest in seeds to develop our harvest… investing in others is the seeds of strong growth. Support high performance by being clear, then cultivate a strong culture by building a strong “root structure”. Strong roots create a solid foundation for growth. A strong inner structure doesn’t break in adversity… then nurture it. In divine timing… the law of nature in action… your investments in what you plant will pay off. Summer: Protect and nurture your investment. Do not wait until the fall, assess daily… moment to moment… how you are doing. True intent equals outcome always. Regardless of how you feel about it… reality does not lie. Figures don’t lie. Did you live up to your word? Look back. Don’t judge… yet assess honestly what could you have done differently to improve the results/situation. Stop… assess, restart and keep what works… let go… without out judgment, blame, guilt or shame what doesn’t work… simple. Then integrate… again and again. Consistently applying what does work produces results. If you can’t see the whole forest because your in the middle of the trees ask others, your team, family or friends for constructive feed back. Fall: Prepare for new levels of output. Fall brings the effects of the work (seeds) planted in the in spring. Remember, do not expect to reap what you did not sow. You will either enjoy abundance from your honest labor or “make excuses” why you are not. View adversity as the blessing it is… instead of a curse that a judgmental mind will take you to. Adversity reveals our true character. Rise above excuses or be buried in the “nature” of blame. Winter: A time for appreciation and reflection. Turn your thoughts of appreciation into acts of appreciation, then reflect on what requires change to keep up with the changes life brings.

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