13 Lessons on Life, Business and The Pursuit of Gardening

With the onset of the pandemic and quarantine mandates of 2020, I, like the rest of the world, found myself in search of new hobbies to fill up my newfound time and solitude. And thus, just as everyone else, I turned to the internet and world of TikTok to try my hand (albeit unsuccessfully) at numerous viral video trends and bread-baking recipes, before ultimately landing on what would eventually become my new obsession… gardening.

Since then, what started as way to simply kill time and have fun harvesting some homegrown veggies, inadvertently become a way to release, unwind and temporarily disconnect from the confines of my computer. Whether it was to find a brief escape from my inbox, client meetings and upcoming presentations or to seek clarity on a given situation, I would routinely head to the garden to hit it with the hose and check for any new growth that may have sprouted.

And it’s in those somewhat meditative garden moments that I did find growth. Not only in seeds and soil of the raised beds, but in my own mind and actions. The practice of gardening allowed me to see and understand firsthand the natural act and process of growth and management in plant form, and how it could apply to other areas of everyday life and business that I found myself dealing with.

So, with that being said, below are 13 things I’ve either learned or confirmed about life and business from my backyard gardening efforts:

1. Growth takes time.
   You've likely heard this one before, but it's worth repeating for those impatiently waiting for their latest post to go viral or business idea to take off. The day you plant the seed is not the day you harvest.
   
   

2. No two plants grow at the same rate.
   And, much the same, we as unique individuals and employees have different paces in which we read, learn, grow, feel comfortable / confident speaking up, etc. The faster or slower that something takes to bear fruit is no indication of its success as a plant, and the same goes for finding our way in life, relationships, careers, callings, etc.
   
   

3. Plants require differing levels of structure and support.
   Some prefer sun, while others the shade. Some are independent and have strong stalks that are self-supporting, while others can be more delicate and need the guiding support or reinforcement of a cage or trestle. Identifying those specific needs and requirements in an individual, and providing those supporting elements (when/where needed) can make all the difference in someones longterm success, cooperation, production and happiness.
   
   

4. Cross pollination promotes creativity and diversity.
   Just as a pollinators (bees, insects, wind, etc.) carry and transplant nutrients from one plant to another that aid in it’s growth and create newer, stronger varieties of plants, so too can the ideas and input of unique individuals, industries and experiences when they are brought together. Taking in diverse opinions and considering the unique perspective and experience of others in any situation, will always lead to a more well-rounded and thoughtful result.
   
   

5. Companion planting is both efficient and mutually beneficial..
   Appropriately pairing different, but similar crops and plants together allows you to not only maximize what can grow together in a single garden bed, but it also improves the overall health of the soil and plants as a whole since these companions tend to swap and share valuable nutrients to help each other growth. Similarly, when you align and unify individuals or teams of employees with a similar goal, mission, and drive they’ll not only aid and support one another’s efforts of growth, but also maximize the efficiency in which they achieve their common interest and desired result.
   
   

6. Sometimes a little $h*! can help fertilize and encourage growth.
   Too much of the same can lead to a stale and complacent environment for growth, so having a little $h*! thrown into the mix to challenge you can do wonders in keeping the soil (and your creative juices) fertile. If you’re not continuously encountering new problems to solve and overcome, that’s usually a good indicator that you’re not really growing as a business or individual.
   
   

7. Seasonality is natural.
   As great as it sounds to be a high-functioning top performer at all times, the reality is that we all have seasons of productivity and seasons of rest and restructure necessary for new growth. Additionally, some people are simply designed for certain seasons and situations, and once that season or situation passes, it's totally normal to experience a period of employees moving on, roles changing, etc. in order for you, your business and your employees (whether they’re staying, joining or moving on) to transition into a new season.
   
   

8. Sometimes, it’s just not the right soil or environment.
   Try as you may, some plants just don’t jive in certain regions, climates, temperatures, or soil types… and the same certainly goes for people in various relationships and work environments. It’s important to learn and recognize both your unique strengths and weaknesses, in order to understand where you’re most likely to take root and flourish.
   
   

9. Overcrowding stunts and stifles growth.
   Trying to pack too much into one garden bed doesn’t allow for any one plant to ever receive the nutrients it needs to successfully grow and reach its full potential. And if the plants grow at all, the fruits that they produce will likely be far less than what they could have been with the proper space and resources to thrive. Likewise, if you don’t give an individual or employee the proper space, resources and trust needed for them to think creatively and execute tasks independently, you’ll ultimately stunt their growth and stifle the level of results that could have potentially been produced otherwise.
   
   

10. Setting and forgetting leads to unruly and misdirected growth.
    You want to give some space and freedom to encourage any kind of growth, but you must still occasionally check-in and provide guidance help to curb unwanted behavior and wasted energy, which can not only stunt longterm results, but ultimately lead to burnout, wasted potential and their ultimate demise.
    
    

11. One bad plant can ruin the entire crop.
    At the first sign and manifestation of disease or an insect infestation, the quick removal and eradication of the problem plant is necessary and vital to keeping the rest of the garden and plants from being infected. The same can be said of toxic individuals or employees, who threaten the overall culture and cohesiveness of an otherwise working relationship or team.
    
    

12. Pruning is a vital part of providing direction and improving production.
    Like a lean and efficient machine, pruning keeps the energy and nutrients of a plant going only to the limbs and leaves that are most likely to produce the best fruits. Removing bent, broken or unsightly parts of the plant reduces waste and keeps the focus and energy flowing into the areas that need it most. The same should be done with any area of your life or business that isn’t serving you and your desired outcome. It’s often necessary to drop deadweight and cut out any underperforming areas that are draining your energy, in order to keep the focus and priority on the things that are actually life-giving and producing success.
    
    

13. You’ll only ever get out, what you put in.
    That goes for the initial seeds (dreams/ideas) you plant, as well as the hard work, hours, etc. that you’re willing to put towards keeping things alive and healthy once they’ve sprouted. You’ll obviously never get a ripe tomato from a watermelon vine, and following that same logic, you’ll never achieve your dream business, dream lifestyle, dream relationship, etc. if you never carve out the space in the garden and sow the correct seeds to begin with.

My Mother, The Postmaster

I’m so proud of my momma. This weekend I got to attend a luncheon to officially recognize and celebrate her retirement from the United States Postal Service after 32 years of unmatched hard work and diligent service. Beginning her career as a mail clerk and working her way up the ranks managing several offices and positions along the way, she eventually hung up her hat and retired as the Post Master of the same post office in Colbert, Georgia that both my Grandfather and Great-Grandfather retired from as well.

This woman epitomizes so many things to me. As a single parent with more faith, character, work ethic, savviness and resilience than anyone I’ve ever seen or known, she has had the single greatest impact on my becoming the man I am today. Teaching me about life and work in her role as a loving parent (which I know I’m fortunate to have as is), but also intrinsically as a model employer to those she oversaw, servant to those in need and overall saint of a human being in general.

Maybe it’s from growing up the only girl amongst her three brothers or simply raising two bull-headed boys, but she somehow mastered the art of being both tough as nails and as soft as snow. Equal parts MacGyver and Mother Theresa, one minute she could be a quiet observer, telling well timed jokes or praying for someone and the next she’s commanding an entire room like it’s Independence Day, creatively finding the solution to any situation with nothing more than a unwound paper clip and a fresh stamp.

In fact, growing up in the post office and watching her in that element, I always thought she was super human. Flinging letters like ninja stars into small, uniquely marked boxes with the speed of and accuracy of an F-series fighter pilot. And somehow magically knowing the names, addresses, family members, occupations and life stories of every single customer that walked through her door. She’s rescued mail carriers from gruesome dog bites, hand delivered packages that got lost or left behind to people located hours away, and even saved little old ladies from a “Nigerian Prince” that was somehow always in need of a few thousand dollars in order to inherit his fortunes.

She sacrificed personal time on mornings, nights, weekends, holidays, etc. to make sure her people got their packages… but never at the expense of being there for my brother and I, or giving us the best life we could have ever had.

We’ve often joked about how she has slowly turned into her parents over time worrying about me, and how I would inevitably turn into her as well.

But the truth is, it would be an absolute honor to become even 1/4 of the person my mother is.

I’m beyond proud of what she has accomplished, and if they were around I know my Grandma, Grandpa and Great Grandpa would be as well.

“Neither rain, nor sleet, nor dark or night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

Congratulations, mom! Your appointed rounds are complete. The only mail you have to worry about getting delivered now is that retirement check.

Farewells, Farmers Markets and Finding One’s Value

I moved to Greenville, South Carolina six years ago to launch a new location for a growing business I was running at the time, and as part of that became a vendor selling at the Travelers Rest Farmers Market. Soon thereafter, I was asked if I’d have any interest in joining their board as a vendor member. They needed a few more hands on deck, and said they could use the perspective of someone newer to the market and with my experience.

I knew little to nothing about farmers markets at the time and had never served on a board in any capacity up to that point, but thought “sure, why not?” I figured it couldn’t be that difficult to do, and, if nothing else, would at least help me to get connected and stay informed on things that could potentially affect my business and sales.

So it made sense. I joined, but, in all honesty, was not an active participant or helpful member by any measure. In fact, looking back, I’d go as far as to say that I was probably pretty lousy. I attended monthly meetings by typically rushing in at the last minute, listened but rarely spoke up, voted on things I gave little thought to and then went about my business. No harm, no foul. The market seemed to continue on all the same, and so did I.

Fast forward to two weeks ago, as I became emotional closing out my final meeting after having served on the board for the last five years, and as President for the past two… one of which just happening to take place during a global pandemic where, just as everyone else, we had no clue how or if we would even be able to operate going into the season. Ending my time feeling insanely proud of the things we accomplished, and immensely grateful for both the opportunity I’d been given to lead and the community that I cultivated around me as a result of it all.

So, what changed? To have gone from an unengaged participant that primarily joined because I thought I could likely get something out of it for myself, to getting choked up and shedding quite a few tears as the team I’d helped build and lead surprised me with a commemorative plaque for my time served. What internal switch had gotten flipped to make such a difference?

Well, I certainly learned more of the overall in’s and out’s of serving on a nonprofit board and the operations of a farmers market as time went on, but that had no real bearing on my actual motivation or interest. I can tell you that it also wasn’t about it being easy or simply wanting to have an attractive title on my resume either, because if 2020 proved anything it was just how hard and fragile running a business of any kind can be. And how being ready and willing to be on the receiving end of making difficult, often confrontational, decisions just comes with the territory of having said title. I mean, the Presidential role and title was cool and all, but the last thing I wanted my name attached to was a PR nightmare in the middle of a pandemic.

The answer was ultimately my perspective. And, more specifically, the perspective of my own value.

I changed it, and it, in turn, began to change me.

I eventually realized that I was not there for myself or to get what I could from merely sitting on the board, but rather was there to serve others in my community by giving and contributing what I could with what I had. Understanding that I was not there to make sure the market just continued on as usual, but was instead there to proactively help change and evolve it.

My initial perspective was one in which I did not see myself being of any value to the market due to my lack of knowledge with boards, nonprofits, farmers markets, etc., and; therefore, didn’t feel as if I had anything to truly contribute. I told myself I was of no value, and, following that mindset, acted as such.

But at some point, something just clicked. I may not have known anything of boards, nonprofits or markets at the time, but I did know about sales, marketing, websites, analytics, building companies and company culture. I knew about customer service, fundraising, making products, and getting sweaty to get things done. And it was that perspective, experience and value that I was asked to be on the board for in the first place.

So, in the ways that I could, I began to contribute a little. And then a lot. And other members of the board, both new and old, did the same.

I used my knowledge of websites, digital marketing and analytics to help redesign and develop our website, installed Google Analytics tracking to better measure and evaluate what worked (and didn’t), applied for and received the Google Ad Grant to run up to $10,000 in free Google search ads per month, set up and designed a monthly newsletter through Mailchimp, and pulled together a year-end market recap report of stats and data to use for things like grant writing and corporate fundraising to better show the true value that the market added to its customers, vendors, sponsors and overall community.

I leaned into the areas in which I could add value, and, coincidentally, the more I gave, the more I got back in return.

And it was this same mindset of understanding our value and changing perspective, that we as a market not only managed to survive as a community based event in 2020 (most of which were shut down due to COVID), but grew in ways that we hadn’t even considered or imagined possible. Transforming from a place to simply grab produce, baked goods and a cup of coffee, to a reprieve from the madness. We were a sight for sore eyes at the end of a long week. A neighborly friend with whom there was comfort in catching up. A safe space in which the community could, in essence, be a community.

We had lost certain grants, funding and revenue as a result of the times being faced, and were unfortunately unable to hold our largest and most profitable fundraiser of the year - the beloved Tomato Sandwich Taste-Off. But, as a team, we focused on the areas in which we could add value to the community and made several creative pivots to fundraise and generate new revenue. We rallied together to acquire new grants, opened additional market dates, wrote and printed a community cookbook, found new ways to promote ourselves, and volunteered more of our own free time, money, labor, etc.

We became more efficient out of necessity, and more community minded for the same reason.

And just as I grew by recognizing my own value and ways to help the market, the market grew by recognizing it’s value and ways to better help the community.

So it’s with a great sense of pride that I’ll now be retiring my straw hat and sleeping in on Saturday mornings. Forever grateful for the lessons learned and things that the Travelers Rest Farmers Market taught me… not only about business, nonprofits, and serving on boards, but about building a community and finding value in myself.