Bloom where you’re planted

All summer long I’ve been looking at these marigolds growing in the middle of my garden. A couple of weeks ago, I put my garden to bed for the winter when I dug up my potatoes, beets and carrots…the last vegetables growing, but I left the marigolds because they are very hearty and will take a couple of frosts before they stop blooming. Also, because I know that if I leave them in my garden, they’ll drop some seeds and grow next year. I’m not exactly sure where they will grow next year but I know that the scent of the marigolds drive off wanted insects and other pests. For instance, we live near the edge of Mandan but rabbits, gophers and squirrels don’t bother our garden. I’m about half convinced it’s because of the marigolds.

But the marigolds are but one flower I have in my yard. I’m also a lover of tulips. They are a sure sign of spring when their green heads start popping through the frozen ground. Come May, the tulips are bright yellow, orange and red…but they need to be cared for.

So on a sunny Saturday afternoon, my son Derek and I got busy and dug up the tulip beds. There are a few things you do.

First, you dig up the four to six inches of dirt that covers them. Second you remove the tulip bulbs. Then you dig a little deeper and add fertilizer. You put a little dirt over the fertilizer and rake the bed flat. Next you separate the bulbs and plant them. Then cover them back up. Then you wait for spring to arrive. 

So let’s review how this can help us as we grow and mature.

First, there’s the dirt. Where ever we are working or living, we need to make sure that the climate and goals of those around us are a match for us.

Let me give you an example. I began my career with newspapers, but after working 20 years in public relations for an energy company and a telephone cooperative, I had a hard time returning to the job of being a newspaper reporter in 2002. It wasn’t that I had forgotten how to write, but there was just so much more that I wanted to do than just be a reporter. It’s a bit like asking a gourmet chef to be in charge of the salad bar at Bonanza. Because the “dirt” wasn’t right, I looked elsewhere for opportunities and landed my current position with a trade association and returned to public relations.

Next you need to separate the bulbs. By this I mean you need to look at your current position and see what else you can do to attain a higher position, if that’s what you seek.  I remember doing exactly that when I worked for a regional utility. I was the editor of the employee magazine but I really wanted to be the manager of the department. So I looked at what other things I could be doing.

Well, there was talking to the press and writing speeches for executives. Also, there were leadership duties such as communications planning. In all, I had drawn one circle in the middle of a piece of paper that said, magazine editor. Then I drew about eight circles,  which contained other things that I could be doing and should be doing if I wanted to advance.

That’s what I mean by separating the bulbs. Tulips start with one bulb but in a couple of years, there can be a cluster of bulbs around that initial one. If you don’t separate them, the one in the middle will begin to die and pretty soon the bulbs will simply turn to dirt. So just as separating bulbs is essential, it’s also necessary to see what else you can do to help you advance.

Remember, your advancement also will help your employer. After all, the person you hope to replace will eventually retire and your company wants someone who can do as good a job or even a better job than person now holding the postion.

Finally, you need to fertilize. And for people, that comes from training. An honest assessment has to be taken. What do I need to be trained on for me to advance. For me it was public speaking and getting over my severe fear of public speaking.

You might not recognize it today, but I assure you that I was petrified to speak in front of an audience or a camera…knowing that hundreds or perhaps thousands would be listening to me.

So I joined Toastmasters…back in 1989. The first meeting I attended was incredibly unnerving. It was the Flickertail Toastmasters Club and they had a speaker cancel on them at the last minute so I was asked to give my “Ice Breaker”. I thought I would die. But I didn’t. And gradually, I started getting better and overcame my nervousness.

I’m lucky that I found Toastmasters because it has made a world of difference to me.

So the next time you see marigolds or tulips or whatever flower you like growing in a bed of dark loam, remember that flower is urging you to bloom where you’re planted. Plant your roots in good dirt and spread your blossoms toward the sun.