Planting the "Seeds" for Tomorrow

All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.
Chinese Proverb

by Skip Cohen

It's Sunday, the one day that I completely deviate from business and marketing. It's my time to write about something other than the challenges we face along our career path every day. This morning, my thoughts are focused on great quotes.

While there are moments when I hate social media and miss the simplicity of the life I grew up with, the Internet has made the world a much smaller place. It gives us an opportunity to harvest old and new ideas to help expand our thoughts on virtually any topic that pops into our heads. It's given us access to everyone from Confucius to SNL's Jack Handy, and the quote I grabbed this morning is a perfect example.

I read the above quote and loved how it took one of my grandmother's sayings and gave it a touch of class. One of her favorites was, "You reap what you sow."  But the Chinese took it a step further and gave it a far more supportive and positive spin.

At the risk of actually sounding like Jack Handy, we're all gardeners with the ability to plant whatever seeds we want. And done right, the things we do now to secure "flowers" in the future are the definition of planning, hope, and fulfilling our dreams—plant no seeds today, and nothing will grow tomorrow.

Here's my point: Find a website with quotes about whatever interests you the most. Pick any challenge you're dealing with right now, and Google will open the doors to the arsenal of diverse thoughts on the topic from all over the world. Then, appreciate the way technology has expanded our lives with so much information at our fingertips. But be careful in what quotes you share:

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet.
Abraham Lincoln

Wishing everybody a day ahead that's loaded with the potential to plant whatever seeds of ideas you're hoping to grow for tomorrow. Like planting real flowers, not everything you plant will always grow, but if you don't plant anything, you're trying to grow in an emotional desert. I always write about those eleven-second therapeutic hugs with the people you're closest to. Those hugs are the equivalent of watering and fertilizing some of those "flowers" you're hoping to grow.

Like I said, I'm sounding like Jack Handy this morning.

Happy Sunday...or Monday on the other side of the world.