Enriching the Soil

Everyone knows that one of the key elements to a thriving garden is to start with rich soil.  Soil full of nutrients will help the plants grow quickly and allow them to bare delicious fruit and vegetables. The more attention paid to the cultivation of the garden, the more rewarding it will be.

Ironically, this analogy came to mind the other day while working with a client.  Maybe it was because of the fact that I was working in the yard all weekend – who knows- the mind works in amazing ways.

You see, the mind is very much like a garden.  The more you work to enrich the soil, the greater (and faster) the results your mind will produce.  A well-prepared mind will yield results that will exceed your expectations.

Prepare the soil

Most believe that traditional education (K-12 and a college degree) is enough to prepare us for success in life.  Though this is a good start and can certainly aid in your success, for those who want to go further faster, enriching your mind (like the soil) is the key differentiator.

Let’s go back to my analogy for a moment.  If you plant a few seeds in basic soil, some of them will certainly sprout.  It may take a little extra time, they may be a little smaller and for some that are impatient (like me), some will give up before any real growth is observed.  This often happens to those who graduate college and expect to step into the perfect position at the greatest company with a desirable income.  Unfortunately, this rarely happens without soil that has been enriched.  As a result, many give up on their originally chosen career or are ill prepared to actually discern which career is actually right for them.  By adding food for your mind to enrich it, you will accelerate your desired result. 

How do you enrich your soil?

Participate in as many varied experiences possible and learn to process what you learn along the way.  Most of us wake up, do life, go to bed and repeat – mostly in an unconscious way like walking zombies.  When you are taught how to effectively process the experiences you have the opportunity to have, you learn from each and every one of them and as a result you enrich your soil. 

Read books (ok, you can listen to audiobooks too).  Each time you read a book, listen to podcasts or Ted Talks, you feed your mind with added nutrients.  Here’s the kicker – when you read a new book, your mind does an amazing thing – it processes all of the experiences you’ve had (and will have) and expands the possibilities of the mind.  Reading books is not just about becoming smarter from a traditional standpoint, rather, it is about expanding the context of the mind.  The broader contexts you have, the more opportunities you will see.  The more opportunities your mind sees, the less ‘locked in’ or restricted your choices are.

When I work with clients, I seek to enrich the soil of their minds so that their real-life results will be accelerated and more rewarding.  By giving my clients activities and exercises, it enriches their mental soil so that when I plant certain seeds the mind will be fertile enough for them to yield great results.

I inspire new sources of input and then process those experiences with them to further expand their possibilities. 

Those who keep their worlds small, limit possibilities.  When you travel, experience different ways of life, various people and cultures, you enrich your soil.  Putting yourself in new environments activates your mental stimulus.  When you understand that your mind uses wide ranging input to understand the world and all of its options, it makes perfect sense why expanding inputs is so important. 

The majority of humans are ‘creatures of habit’ (we even have a phrase for it).  We find comfort in sameness or familiarity.  However, that is exactly what slows the path of growth down.  Challenge yourself to experience new things, meeting a variety of people and read endlessly in order to enrich your own soil.  Challenge yourself to grow and be willing to be uncomfortable in the short term for the benefit of long-term reward.  I promise to provide additional nutrients to enrich the soil of your mind.

“Seeds of opportunity growth faster and more fruitfully with enriched soil.”  – Lauren Doyle

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