Is The Easy Way Actually Easy?- Blog 8
Establishing this business has taught me many things, but one in particular stands out: it is far better to do something the right way rather than taking shortcuts. Not that I intended to take any shortcuts, there was just a huge learning curve when I began this journey.
For instance, when I started gardening…
I didn’t think about how all these plants would get enough water to sustain themselves throughout the season.
Nor did I think about how much fertilizer they would require.
It just seemed like a lot of work when I was already busy planting the entire garden. And guess what? As a result, when July rolled around I was tired of watering and my plants were dying off. So that is the first step; simply learning what it takes.
Then once the knowledge was gained, I had to build up stamina and discipline. It’s not just about learning what is best, but actually doing it too. I have found that this is the hardest part: gaining the mental strength to tell myself “no”. This is done by continually fighting the urge to be lazy and cut corners. How many times a day do we tell ourselves yes? “I deserve a coffee, I’m driving right by… I can skip the gym, it was a long day… We can just get takeout, I don’t feel like cooking.” I’m not saying we shouldn’t be free to enjoy life, but when you really stop and think about it we love to tell ourselves yes. Do I want to meticulously draw out an entire field plan, specifically measure plant spacing, set up an entire irrigation system and patiently grow thousands of tiny seeds into plants? Not necessarily, but I do want to have an incredible field of flowers and a profitable business- and I won’t get there by skipping all the steps I just listed.
So if you haven’t figured it out yet, spoiler alert, the easy way is actually the hard way. Maybe not in the moment, but definitely in the end. Choosing to avoid work on the front end will either cost you extra time, money or headache; possibly all three. This is by far the biggest and most important lesson that creating Long Acre Farm has taught me. I want to be known for going the extra mile even (and especially) when it’s not easy. I want to have the discipline to do the right thing when no one is watching. My analogy applies to growing flowers, but it’s really true for every aspect of life.
