A Practical Guide to Success: “You Get What You Plant”
This article explains the path to success using the simple concept of planting “corn” seeds. We know that if you “plant” corn, four things are going to happen:
Number 1: You’re going to get corn (not apples)
Number 2: You’re going to get the corn later than you planted it
Number 3: You’re going to get more corn than you planted
Number 4: You’re going to get the corn, in proportion to how much corn you planted
If I lost you…just keep on reading…
Number 1: You’re going to get corn
You shouldn’t be surprised by the results that you’re getting in your life; you’re the one who planted the seeds for those results; whether those results are good, bad, or down-right ugly. To be upset with the results you’re getting would be like a farmer being upset that he got tomatoes when he planted tomatoes. It would be like an artist being upset that his painting is a disaster, when he’s the one who painted it.
What am I saying, I’m saying that nothing can come from corn but corn; nothing can come from wheat but wheat; nothing from grapes, but grapes.
If you’re getting failure, it’s because you’re planting the seeds for failure, by having a mentality that permits failure.
If you plant success in your life, by reading articles like this one, and by following through with action, you will succeed.
Number 2: You’re going to get the corn later than you planted it
Many people don’t experience success because they’re unwilling to wait for the seeds of success to grow. We’ve been programmed to think that all of our desires should be met instantaneously, without any prior preparation.
But the truth is, some things can be put in a microwave, like popcorn, or “Hot Pockets,” but the good meals have to be prepared. They need to sit on the stove and cook slowly, so that all of the seasons can soak into the meal. Contrary to popular opinion, public debate, and what you may have seen on late night infomercials, success takes time.
It will happen, but it will happen some time after you’ve planted the seeds for it (and it may happen later than you anticipated), but just as sure as you’re reading these words right now, your season will come.
Number 3: You’re going to get more corn than you planted
Be careful what you plant, every thought, and every decision is a seed into your future.
If you’re not planting the “right” seeds today, you have no tomorrow; just a longer today.
You should be careful what you plant because you will always receive more than what you planted. This is good news if you’re planting good seeds, and bad news if you’re planting bad seeds.
Number 4: You’re going to get the corn in proportion to how much corn you planted
If you put in a little work, then you will receive a little harvest. If you put in a lot of work, then you will receive a big harvest.
If you want to be successful, you must spend your days planting beneficial seeds that will give you a beneficial harvest. Don’t waste your priceless moments on unproductive activities.
Decide that you want a great harvest; dedicate everyday to planting seeds that will make that desire a reality. Stop wasting time; stop doing unproductive activities. Focus your life on the few critical tasks that bring results, the important seeds, and spend a majority of your time planting those seeds.
If you do, your harvest will come, and the results will amaze you! Thank you for reading.
About the author: this guest post was written by Mr. Self Development. Please support Mr. Self Development by subscribing to his blog at mrselfdevelopment.com; Mr. Self Development is a motivational author that offers a practical guide to success and wealth.
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Posted by Alex Shalman in Uncategorized | August 31, 2009 | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumble | Print | 18 comments
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This is great. So obvious when it comes to farming, yet often hard to swallow when it comes to personal development. You will get what you ask for… no matter how good or bad it is.
I love this article….so simple and yet so profound…!
Nice analogy. We always hear that you reap what you sow, but you’ve really put it down in laymen terms. I also love the point you make about instant gratification. I’d like to point out that as well as planting you’ve got to be sure to guard your crops from locusts and other pests (vampires, trolls, etc) ESPECIALLY if you’re planting the good stuff.
Mr. Self Development, thanks for the great insight and analogy. It puts thinking into such an easy visualization. I’m glad I planted some good seeds in my brain today! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my planting.
“Happy Planting” Steve….
Valerie….that’s a good point….you must always monitor your crop for weeds, etc. that will choke your harvest…you can do this by guarding what you hear, see, and think about….
Richard you’re right….you always get what you ask for, even if you’re asking for it on a subconscious level….
Tammy, thanks for taking time to comment….
i could really go for a nice corn on the cob right about now…. but aside from that i loved the advice and the touch of humor on the side
Anna
Thanks for the comment….
I love love this article. Talking about the seeds reminds me of Jim Rohn and always puts things back into perspective for me. JR says that there are just so many fundamentals – you can’t have more fundamentals – and you’ve definitely got fundamentals here!
This is definitely encouraging. I tend to forget that success does not come overnight. I also like the part about what you get being in proportion to what you plant, because it reminds me to work harder so I can celebrate a larger harvest.
I would love to see a follow-up post about how to deal with the weeds and bugs that tend to affect what we’ve planted. Basically, problems and pitfalls for planting and yielding a harvest.
Jeffrey….I may do a follow-up article to this one…discussing the weeds that choke the harvest…thanks for the idea…
Everyone is up for self development. Many people are taking self development courses. Love the insights you have pointed out. It is true that what you sow you will reap. It’s important that whatever you will plant in the soil, make sure that you will put fertilizer. This fertilizer would be things like failure and mistakes. We can learn so much from it. We can always use things to pull us up and not down.
Hey Mr Selfdevelopment
Awesome post!
This is so true, I had this maths teacher in the last grade in highschool, and he was very much into self development, and he was always talking about planting and growing seeds. Every thought is a seed, and by repeating the thought, you are watering the seed. Thus, negative seeds turn into negative plants, metaphorically, so negative thoughts turn into a negative way of living!
Cheers!
Diggy
Woops. Saw this post 2 weeks after it got posted up!
Ah.. I was experimenting on something similar for the past 2 weeks which can relate to this post concept on planting seeds. What I did was to help 2 friends in their respective businesses in areas which can complement their strengths. Not only it resulted in increase (more like skyrocket) of profits for them, my own value rose within the same period of time.
A principle learned somewhere (was it from Rockafella?) where the author wrote that he became a millionaire by helping others become millionaires too! Same principle applies in smaller and achievable goals.
I like the corn analogy.
To Daniel, I think you’re referring to the book “Think And Grow Rich”.
This post is related to the law of sowing a reaping. Its states that we reap only in direct proportion to what we have sow. And what we are reaping today is in direct proportion to what we have sown to this very moment. Yet, people search for instant gratification which leaves many wandering throughout there lifetime without a serene of proper direction.
You hit the nail on the head with this one Alex!
Mate, I take my hat off to you for this one. This is one of the coolest blog posts I have seen. A perfect metaphor. I hope you don’t mind if I quote the intro of it on my blog and link to you so my readers can benefit from it?