4 Success Principles To Learn From Seeds
Have you ever noticed that all around us in nature, there are many things from which we can gather profound insights and lessons to guide the trajectory of our lives, if only we took the time to pause and take notice of them? Solomon revealed to us in Proverbs 1, that all around us there are opportunities to increase in knowledge and wisdom. He personifies wisdom as a woman in Proverbs 1:20 by stating that she is all around us looking for us, however, we often ignore her.
You see, a couple months ago my mum and I started our very own, home kitchen garden and ever since then, I have been fascinated by seeds and plants. I have been amazed at the way they grow, develop and produce crops of which we as human beings like to consume. Interestingly, over the past few months, I have been observing the crops in my garden and I’ve been gaining a lot of valuable insight and life lessons from seeds, and today, I want to share some of those life lessons with you. These lessons are crucial to your development and influence both as a leader and as an individual seeking to grow personally.
But first, what is a seed? According to research, a seed is said to be the embryonic stage of a plant’s life cycle. It consists of an embryo, endosperm, and a seed coat. The embryo is a tiny plant that has a root, a stem, and one or more leaves. In other words, a seed already holds the capacity within itself to produce something.
Whenever I look at a seed, I am immediately amazed because I am always in awe at how something so small and often overlooked, holds such great potential and the capacity within itself to grow, multiply and produce something valuable which serves the lives of others.
The truth is, there are so many life lessons which can be drawn from seeds. That is probably why in scripture there are numerous references made to seeds and to gardens. Believe it or not, your life is like a seed. When God gave his first instructions to mankind after creating the world, he even referred to us as a type of “seed”, commanding, “Be fruitful, multiply and replenish the earth”.
Lesson 1: You always reap what you sow & more than you sow
One of the first life lessons which we can learn from seeds is that we always reap what we sow. If you sow tomato seeds, you won’t reap an apple tree from those seeds. Rather we would reap a tomato tree. If you sow a pepper seed in the ground, you can’t expect to reap a harvest of cucumbers or watermelons from that seed. Why? Because whatever you sow and plant into the ground, is what you will get in return at harvest time. But, here’s something else you must be mindful of. You reap what you sow, but you don’t reap exactly how much you sow. You see, you will always reap more than you sow. If you sow one tomato seed in the ground, the tree doesn’t just produce one tomato when it is time for producing. Rather, you will notice that the tree produces more than one tomato. In other words, not only does the tree has the capacity to bear fruit (to be fruitful) but it also multiplies that which was sown (multiplication). The tree will produce manifold that which was sown. But that’s not all. Furthermore, each of those tomato fruits hold within them many more seeds of which allows for the cycle of growth and multiplication to continue (replenishes). We can therefore agree that we reap what we sow and more than we sow.
Whatever type of seed you place into the ground, it will produce more of itself. In life, you never reap what you want, what you wish for or what you hope to harvest. You only reap what you sow and that which you put into the soil. The same is said to be true for our lives. A wise gentleman by the name of Myron Golden once said, “every word is a seed, every thought is a seed and every action is a seed that is sown in the garden of your life”. That’s why you must be mindful of the seeds which you are sowing in the garden of your life, because what you sow is what you will reap, plus more abundance.
If you sow discord and chaos in your relationships, then that is exactly what you are going to reap. If you sow poverty into your life by the words you speak and the habits you create, then that is exactly what you’ll reap. If you sow despair, the lack of hope or the lack of good work ethic in the members on your team then the results will clearly align with that which you have sowed. If you sow the lack of vision or the lack of integrity into the lives of your children, then that is exactly what will be reaped.
It is so interesting how many people want new results in their lives but are not willing to sow something new. They are not willing to change. They keep sowing the same seeds, expecting a different harvest. Bishop TD Jakes excellently stated it this way, “you will not reap in the next season of life what you haven’t ploughed or sowed in this current season”.
Lesson 2: It is the hidden unseen internal changes, which occur in private which produces the fruits/results we see externally
Just like a seed, as we change internally, evidence will be revealed externally. Thus, the success of your life and leadership is determined by the work you do on yourself internally.
If we observe a seed in its developmental journey to become a plant/tree, we would notice that before any fruit, leaves or blossoms are produced, the seed first starts to swell and it produces a root system. The roots are one of the first things produced. In other words, a tree really grows downward first, in the dark, unseen spaces in the mud and soil, before it grows upward, out of the soil and into the light. Furthermore, the health, strength and stability of that tree in the long run, is predicated on the root system. If the root system of the plant/tree is bad or underdeveloped, the remainder of the tree will also suffer or may even die. Also, if the root system isn’t strong enough, then it wouldn’t be able to carry the weight of the rest of the tree/plant. It is often the hidden unseen things which creates the external world around us.
If we are to become fruitful and multiply, value and impact others, we must first work on the hidden internal things which we often overlook; such as - our mindset, our character, our beliefs and our habits- because those are the things which influence the factors we see externally like our actions, our successes and our victories.
Often times when people look at high achievers or successful people, they may automatically assume that one day everything fell into place for them, or that everything was smooth sailing. However, many of them would reveal to you, that on the journey to where they are, there was some inner work which they had to do on themselves. Over the past few years, I have been blessed to sit at the feet and learn from the counsel of some successful persons in their various industries from CEOs, pastors, very talented musicians, to business owners. During my interactions with these individuals, one thing I have noticed that was common amongst all of them was, they all had to work on themselves internally first, before they started to see results externally. Some persons may term this as “Personal Development”.
These individuals all had to work on growing themselves: whether it was by mastering their skillset, letting go of old habits and replacing them with new ones or changing their belief system which they once held on to.
The unfortunate thing is, not many people are intrigued or willing to do the internal work on themselves. You may need to heal from past hurts, renew your mind with new concepts, master a new skillset, change your habits or even work on your character and integrity.
That’s why I love these words by the late Myles Munroe, “if you want to become successful, do not pursue success. Rather, grow yourself, work on yourself and become a person of value and then success will be attracted to the type of person you have become”. It is only after a seed has worked on the internal hidden things like the root system that it is then able to produce fruit above the surface. If you have noticed, many people are often in awe at the fruit which a tree produces, but not many people give sufficient credit to its root system.
The mistake which many of us make is that we pursue the fruits without first working on the roots. People often try pursuing success, their goals and external results without first working on themselves. Often times, we may pursue a specific job position, a promotion, a relationship, a specific platform, a certain amount of money, etc. however, we cannot be blessed with something if we cannot first be trusted with it. If we cannot properly steward or handle something which we want, why then should God give it to us? We must first show ourselves capable of being a good steward over what we currently have.
The only reason David was capable of going before an entire nation to fight against Goliath was because previously, when there was no one else around, he was working on developing himself and his craft. Before he slayed Goliath, he had years of experience slaying lions and bears, that’s why when the appointed time came, he was able to stand and to defeat the giant. It was his preparation in private that prepared him for his promotion in public. When no one else was looking, he was working on protecting his sheep. When no one else was looking, he was developing his craft. When no one else was looking or paying attention to him, he was caring for the small things which other people often overlooked. Before He could’ve publicly protected a nation, he had to privately protect his sheep.
It is the common things we often overlook in private that create the results we see in public. That’s why, if you want to do extraordinary things in your life, you must work on yourself and become a better individual. Work on your roots and then your results will be seen in your fruits. Don’t overlook the small things like keeping your integrity, having a good work ethic, showing kindness, creating good habits, being honest, having respect or being diligent in developing your talents and abilities. As we change internally, results are then produced externally of which align with those changes.
Lesson 3: A seed always falls prey to its environment
If we look back to the definition of a seed, we would see that a seed consists of an embryo, endosperm, and a seed coat. The embryo is a tiny plant that has a root, a stem, and one or more leaves. This is important to note because a seed already contains within itself the ability to grow. However, though a seed has the potential to grow, if left alone it still will not grow. It needs to be placed in the right soil and conditions for it to germinate. Simply stated another way, seeds need certain things to help stimulate its growth because on its own it will not grow. It must be placed in the right conditions and the right environment.
Just like a seed, all of us have the ability and the potential to grow and to do great things. However, we also need the right environment to help us to grow to our potential. We need a community of persons who will be there to support us, nurture us, guide us, walk side by side with us and people who will keep us accountable. We weren’t created to do life alone. Proverbs 27:17 enlightens us that “As iron sharpens iron, so does a person sharpens the countenance of his friends”.
In Scripture, we are told of a parable of a sower and some seeds, found in Matthew 13:3-9. Though we are not specifically told in this story if all the seeds were different types, it can however be noted that all of the seeds, without exception had the potential to germinate. There was absolutely nothing wrong with any of the seeds. However, based upon the environment and various types of ground on which they fell, that made all the difference in the final outcome.
Similarly, all of us as human beings created by God, all have the potential to grow and go to the next level, while having an impact on the world. But, based upon the environment we choose to place ourselves in, that will determine the altitudes we go to.
Furthermore, as leaders in our various spheres of influence, we must create an environment which helps to stimulate the growth of others: our friends, family, work mates or church family.
Lesson 4: All seeds, depending upon what they are going to produce, all grow at different paces
The final lesson which I will share with you today is that all seeds, depending upon what they are going to produce, will grow at different speeds/rates. In life, we can find it easy to compare ourselves with others. We may think that we are far behind or that we are too late. We may see everyone else around us getting ahead in their careers, in their families, in their studies and in their goals, and we may start to feel like we are very far behind. But I want to remind you, once you are doing what God has called you to do, he will work everything out at the right time. I know sometimes it may be hard to believe.
Nonetheless, don’t compare your journey with someone else’s journey. As a wise person once said, “Don’t compare your chapter 2 with someone else’s chapter 20”. We all grow at different rates and hence, it would be imprudent of me to say that I would stop growing or working on myself because everyone one else around me seems to be further ahead.
Keep focused on your lane and trust me, sooner than you think, you will one day look up and be amazed at how far God has brought you. As I stated on page 75 of my book A NEW LOOK AT LIFE: Journey Into Your Best Life, “your journey will never be the same as someone else’s. So focusing on the lives of others and what they are doing will just distracts us from advancing in our own lives.”
