The year of 2020 has truly become a year for the history books. We have experienced massive unemployment, the significant loss of life, business closures, and thousands of zoom meetings. We are now wearing face masks, using hand sanitizer, and the term social distancing has taken on a whole new meaning. However, during this crisis, I noticed that people are still finding success. Hair salons are now selling PPE products. Bar owners have now converted their business to producing hand sanitizer. Restaurants and stores are now offering curbside service.
Day to day business is now being conducted through virtual conferencing and facetime phone meetings. Americans are buying sewing machines and producing cloth masks that are now being sold on Etsy and Amazon. Faith Leaders have discovered how to expand their reach, using Facebook Live, weekly conference calls, and online giving platforms. Doctors are now conducting virtual meetings with their patients while providing medical care. They discovered new technology, which provided new opportunities.
Therefore, as we continue to manage the current crisis, I want to encourage anyone who feels overwhelmed, defeated, or just feels like giving up to hold on. This is not the time to quit. This is the time to plant your seeds for success. When you think about the concept of planting seeds, you are planting something that is not expected to grow right away. Your seed will experience an incubation period where you will have to water it, and nurture it to ensure its future success. Soon the seed will bloom, and your harvest will manifest. What you plant now, will determine what will grow up later.
As we continue to work through this crisis, what seeds can you plant, that you will nurture and help grow? What new business idea can you cultivate now, that will become a Fortune 500 in the future? What new book project will you nurture now, that will become a best seller next year? What new business relationship will you water now, that will provide the resources for your next big deal? You must also question yourself through your interpersonal lens. Will you plant the seeds of fear or hope? Will you plant the seeds of confidence, or failure? And finally, will you plant the seeds of love or hate? Anything can grow, it just depends on what you plant. Every day, we all have the opportunity, to plant seeds of success with our actions and our words.
As we head into the final few months of this year, this is a great time to plant good seeds. They may not grow right away, but with a little patience and a little nurturing, you can create a future harvest that will bless you, your family and those who will be blessed by your renewed spirit and winning attitude. As I close, I heard it said once, that the only people that are happy when it rains, are those people who have seed in the ground. So, go out, plant your seeds and grow something great.
Dr. Regina Banks-Hall
Dr. Regina Banks-Hall, DBA, SHRM-CP 