“An empowered life begins with serious personal questions about oneself. Those answers bare the seeds of success.” –  Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience.

What is a seed?

“Today’s mighty oak is just yesterday’s nut that held its ground” – David Icke.

A seed is significantly smaller than the fruit it bears. It bears fruit that reproduces multiple seeds as well.  A seed is a unit of reproduction, which is synonymous with duplication. We plant seeds because we expect a certain result. Oftentimes, we even benefit from the yield of seeds we did not personally plant. When we do plant a seed, we do all we can to provide an optimum environment for it to flourish. We go even further, sometimes, to boost its chances of survival and growth by employing the use of enhancers like manure and other man-made fertilizers.

A seed is the beginning of life.

What do we do with a seed?

A seed is planted. If we would deliberately plant a seed, we would make sure to select the most viable seed. It is obvious we would do anything humanly possible to ensure our seeds do well. We would leave nothing to chance.

“When people try to bury you, remind yourself you are a Seed” – Matshona Dhliwayo

Are you a viable seed?

Kindly consider the following questions:

Have you ever thought of yourself as a seed? What kind of seed are you? Are you a viable one? Are you the kind of seed your organization/ group would make sure to select for any project it would want to undertake? If you were a farmer getting ready for the planting season, would you select you?

I daresay that if you saw yourself as a seed, your choices, approach and attitude to life might be different.

Be Intentional

Successful farmers are generally intentional about the planting season. Seeds are even treated chemically just to ensure they produce the best yield ever, especially in this era of scientific and technological advancement. Would it not be worth your while treating yourself so you could be the best you can be?

Farmers also take a good look at the soil in which they intend to plant (bury) their seed for a while. The soil is one of the most critical conditions for a seed to do well and so it is prepared for the planting season. All other conditions are set, humanly possible, to the highest efficiency so the seed has no reason to fail. The seed, however, remains the primary source of life. A bad or corrupt seed will not produce a good yield even if all other conditions are satisfactory.

What to do

As CEO, finance or human resource director, would you say you are well planted? Are you intentionally investing in yourself? Are you treating yourself? Are you deliberately watering yourself? Do you need to be transplanted into different soil or does the soil just need a little adjustment? Are you dealing effectively with the weeds competing for the nutrients and everything else you need to flourish?

Conclusion

There may be a million and one questions to consider but remember, don’t just be a seed; be a viable one. Don’t just be a viable seed; be planted in good soil. “Never underestimate the power of a planted seed” – Anonymous.

Freda Abah-Dakou