The Best Time to Plant a Tree

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I’m writing this at 11:00 pm

I’m writing this at 11:00 pm because I got home at 9:30pm.

This email isn’t about “the grind” or the “hustle” because I think that is dumb.

Those things are cost of entry to ANYONE who wants to do ANYTHING significant.

Sometimes I ask myself why I work long hours.  The answer is always the same.

Because I was audacious enough to try to achieve something of significance.

There is an old Chinese proverb that says:

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago”

Now if you don’t have a tree that proverb sucks…….

Unless we choose to understand that everyday we have to choice to plant a tree.

We have a choice to push the desire for immediate reward aside and plant another tree.

Planting trees isn’t fun, but looking at a 50 year old oak that covers your yard and your grandkids swing from is.

     Becoming a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer or a master plumber or electrician takes time.

     Reversing a lifetime of sedentary lifestyle takes time.

     Loosing 100 pounds takes time.

     Back squatting 400+ pounds takes time.

     Getting a pull up takes time.

But if we only look at how long the process takes then we are unlikely to take on the task.

I was recently talking to a friend of mine who is retired from more than 20 years in special operations.

He said “If I knew how hard it would be to make it that far I would never have started”.

We can use our own ignorance as a tool.

Don’t focus on how hard it will be to get there.

Just plant the seed and move on to the next task.

The idea will grow and the goal can come true,

But we have to put that shovel in the dirt and dig the whole first.