It’s a well-known fact that creative spaces are energizing. But rarely do we have full control over the environments that surround us, including our workspaces and homes. The opportunity to design and develop an environment over which I have full control is just one of the reasons I love to garden. There is absolutely nothing like digging your fingers into the dirt, and the truth is that working the soil grounds me.
When I’m in my garden, I am the master of my domain. It’s all up to me. Well, that’s not totally true. As much as I would prefer things to be entirely up to me (as I would in business), I’m still at the whim of Mother Nature and the weather. My family and I have moved several times over the past decades, and I always look forward to creating a new backyard because I get the opportunity to work with a blank canvas. As the trees change color, it’s as if I’m coloring a painting. And I can even incorporate sound, like through the use of a water feature. There’s no limit to how creative I can be.
Gardening and entrepreneurship are flattering passions. As much as gardening is like business, in that you have to have planning, vision, and have sought out advice, it’s also rewarding in its immediacy. When you put a plant in, the landscape around you is immediately changed–and you’re the one that has effected that change. If you’re incredibly impatient like me, getting to experience such a sudden effect is rewarding. Sometimes it takes years for the business decisions we make to pay off. Just six months after I plant a tree or a bush, it and the landscape around it are changed. My progress is so easily marked and recorded. It doesn’t take long for flowers to bloom and roots to take hold.
As each season passes, I’m afforded another opportunity to improve upon my vision. I am able to apply and incorporate what I’ve learned into creating a better product. Just like some ideas, some seeds will not grow no matter how hard you work–even if you have all of the right ingredients. Each season is beautiful, but there’s nothing like springtime.
Like business, gardening allows me to create a product that other people in my life can enjoy. In fact, I get to create an aura of magic. I get so much joy from seeing other people enjoy my garden. And I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor as well–my hard work pays off in a very visual and literal way.
In my mind, there’s nothing better than watching an idea come to life, and that’s why gardening is such a fantastic pastime for me. At the same time that I am taught patience, I experience gratification.
What do you do that feeds your soul?
Originally published on Inc.com December 23rd 2014.
