Ah, it’s a gorgeous day here in my part of the world!  The sun is shining, the birds are singing and I’ve got my office window open. I’ve also been outside enjoying the glorious weather as well.  It’s a “balmy” 10C (for my American readers, that’s about 50 degrees F). We’ve had some warmish weather for the past few weeks – all the snow is gone from the ground. Quite a change from 4 feet of snow in the front yard to seeing brown grass!


But tomorrow, I’m expecting due to some occurrence in Colorado right now (I always did hate their hockey team!) over 15 cm of snow to drop to the ground where I am.  Hopefully winter’s (and Colorado’s) last gasp before spring takes hold and we can start seeing sprouts of daffodils, tulips, and the greening of our lawns.  Which brings me to an interesting proverb I came across recently:

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.”

There are many things I should have done 20 years ago. I should have started putting away 10% of my income. I should have studied and learned more about writing.  I should have spent less time in front of the TV and more time learning new skills.  But like many of us, I did not do those things 20 years ago.  I had “wants” and dreams, and things I hoped to accomplish, but just kind of hoped “opportunity would come knocking” at my door instead of realizing that I had to do the knocking.  It was about 15 years ago, that it struck me: If I wanted my life to change, I had to change.

I still spend too much time on wasteful things but I’ve improved dramatically.  I still don’t always put enough away into a liquid cash savings account, but I have far more than what I did have 20 years ago. And I’m getting better at making sure I look after those things.

And it’s that time of the week when I look back and write in my “Successes Journal,” making note of the good things that happened, new things I’ve learned and new skills that I’ve developed.   Here’s my list:

1. I have learned more about Article Marketing.  This is something where I should have “planted trees” years ago, but did not.  The time I’ve spent on writing articles and submitting them to Ezine is paying off.  I have written a number of them for two different niches I have an interest in and already traffic to those websites is increasing.

2. One site that I referred to last week has now tripled in daily traffic, partially due to Article Marketing.

3.  On March 20th, I wrote about some “trees being planted” in the previous week in regard to a web property that was earning considerable sums in revenue.  I was looking at ways to squeeze more out of that site and expand it.  Since then, others have offered to provide content and there have been discussions in possibly turning some of it into a print publication.  There has been interest in this from Canada, the U.S. and even Australia.

4. After the publication of one of my articles, I was contacted by someone who is developing some new video technologies, and asking for my permission to use that article as the basis of a demo. This demo will be promoted extensively – of course to promote the new service – but will also include my contact information and website links.

5.  Due to some promotional efforts on the site that I wrote about earlier that had been laying dormant for a couple of years, I’ve had contact with an expert in that field which is opening up some possibilities.

So those are business successes. Will they all pan out?  I don’t know! Perhaps none of them will pan out immediately, but no doubt there are doors to be opened, new ideas to be explored, and ways to help others or provide a service will be found.

All it takes is the planting of some “trees.”  Some effort.  If the trees are not planted, they will not grow.  Perhaps if I had learned more 20 years ago, I could have even more of my dreams fulfilled today. But I’m glad I started, 15 years ago. And today, learning to plant new ones.

In other areas of my life, there have been successes too.  About three years ago, I weighed over 220 lbs. Much too much for me. This past week, I’ve realized I now have probably lost a bit too much (although quite healthy), and in addition to the walking, I’ve joined a gym.  With a little loving nudging (thank you, Colleen), I’m now not so worried about “weight” (although I’ll be more careful than I was five years ago) and more about how I feel physically.

I’ve been having fun with one of my sons, although at a distance.  When he was younger, he and his brothers became separated from me by a large distance which was very hard on this one in particular.  I’ve seen a big improvement in our relationship and we’re finding ways to do things together even though there is a physical distance between us.

This does not mean that I’ve not had moments and parts of days when I have not felt frustrated or impatient.  And when that happened, I had the ear of someone I love who gently but sternly reminded me of those things that I should be proud of, and how some things will pay off down the road (thank you again, Colleen).  Yes, there can be times when frustration or impatience sets in when you’re making efforts and it’s taking longer than what you had hoped for to see returns on that labour. But, if you are spending that effort, you are doing what most people never ever do. You are planting trees at the next best time: Right now.

For this week, I’ll leave you with another thought to think about as well:

“No one is better than you — some people are just better developed and more knowledgeable in certain areas.”

~ Brian Tracy

Think about that this week, as you plant trees today and throughout the week. No one is better than you. You are not better than anyone else.  We all have our own talents and skills – and it’s up to us to use them, increase them, and grow them.  And the only way to do that is to start doing something towards what you want.

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