...hard work...

A dear friend and colleague, Jana, gave me a tiny little aloe plant last year. It has been growing steadily and has become this mammoth beast. It also gave birth to two little plants of its own, and today, I repotted them, along with some other plants, and gave the cute little babies away.

I've always believed that I had a black thumb. Most plants die within of few months of coming home with me. It's discouraging to watch them go from healthy to withered or yellow from overwatering.

Last summer was the first summer that my garden actually grew and yielded a (very small) crop, due to some important factors. One, the weather was not as scorching as it had been in summers past, when you could actually smell the peppers cooking on the vine. Two, I had rearranged my patio pot garden and committed myself to watering the plants twice daily.

By the end of the summer, it occurred to me that both nature and I had to be working together for my garden to succeed. It was a great realization, one that I've been able to apply to many aspects of my life.

Are you working hard in the direction of your dreams? Have you set specific goals? How can I encourage you to work toward them?

“We often miss opportunity because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Edison

Without a doubt, success is hard work, but, in the end, it's worth all the blood, sweat and tears that you pour into it.

“Never give up – never surrender!” – Buzz Lightyear