Time, Tending, Opportunity, and Innovation
A few years back, I started a small organic vegetable garden. Gardening can be a fun and relaxing hobby, and I enjoyed researching and learning how to make the garden better and more productive.
In the course of my research, I came across a book 40 Chances written by Howard Buffett (Warren Buffett's son). The book did not give gardening advice per se but rather chronicled Buffett's efforts with farmers throughout the world to assist and create sustainability.
Buffett posits that a farmer has approximately 40 chances, or 40 years to improve the crop, find adaptive ways to be more efficient, keep the land fertile, and improve business operations. The impact of these 40 chances affects the lives of the villages in this generation and the next.
The decisions made within these 40 chances can lead to sustainability, fertile soil, and food for the village, or in many sad cases the opposite could also be true.I found the message especially interesting as it showed how different choices and mindsets within these 40 chances could lead to prosperity or utter barrenness.
I'm pretty certain Buffett did not intend his book for a small time vegetable garden hobby such as I have, but rather more as a global statement about sustainability. However I was so intrigued by the premise that I thought why not start with my own circle of influence and approach my own garden from the spirit of improvement, productivity, strategy, and sustainability.
For fun, I wanted to implement what I learned in the book and create a strategy of sustainability and productivity in my own "farm" (organic garden.) Seven years of this practice has produced organic lemons, oranges, peaches, figs, avocado, broccoli, tomatoes, brussels sprouts, spinach, kale, green beans, pumpkins, avocado, strawberries, papayas, and more.
I have learned to save seeds from whatever I have grown the year prior and often will use these seeds to start my next crop for the subsequent year. I have learned to freeze and can so that I can enjoy the fruit of my labor throughout the year.
In the spirit of sustainability I learned that planting crimson clover in the 'off' seasons can add nitrogen and replenish the soil. A few years back I started a compost bin and would throw kitchen scraps, paper shreddings, and coffee into the compost. After a few months, there was nutrient rich fertilizer to throw back into the garden, thus addressing any concern of soil depletion.
About a year ago, I noticed wiggly red worms had found their way to the compost. This was actually a good sign, as this type of worm loves compost and the waste or 'castings' they produce have been described as one of the most powerful fertilizers we have available.
I wanted to make sure the worms were comfy, so I purchased a "worm farm" for them and now feed the compost directly to the worms. Every few months, I fertilize my plants using the worm castings. This eliminates kitchen waste that would have just gone into the trash, and transforms it into potent nutrition, fertilizer, and beneficial bacteria that adds nourishment to the food that I grow.
This was my own quirky attempt to embody the principles I learned about in 40 Chances. These principles pertain to mindset and finding innovative ways to become more efficient, less wasteful, and more productive, with the intention of creating something beneficial, nourishing and sustainable that replenishes and improves year after year.
I like to consider our lives from this same perspective. Like a farmer that steps back and surveys the land, considering and measuring productivity and efficiency, we too have the opportunity to survey our own lives and through innovation and strategy, make choices and create positive chances and opportunities in the years of life we are given.
To begin the process, we could consider three questions: What works? What doesn't work? How can I make this better? The first question "What works?" is a simple assessment of what is going well. We know something is working when the desired outcome is achieved consistently. Take a moment and consider an area of your life. Now ask yourself "What works?" When something works we want to maintain the behaviors that have led to this desired outcome.
The next question; "What doesn't work?" is about taking an honest assessment of both short term and possible long term outcomes. A crop might grow in the same soil for a few years, but over time without replenishment the soil loses its nutrients, so a plan in life must include both attentiveness to the now and the future. What works in the present needs to work in the future as well. If something isn't working in your life, and you are not achieving the desired outcome you want, it's time to regroup and restrategize, as well as clarify your goal.
Sometimes we get so acclimated to a habit or a situation that we forget that there are other options or strategies available to us. There is a quote from Abraham Maslow that goes "When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Our mindset can keep us reaching for a hammer and can cloud our vision so everything looks like a nail. Our sense of familiarity and homeostasis can at times impede our creativity, and prevent us from recognizing there may be additional strategies available to us. We may tell ourselves something is working, but that is just a rationale that masks a fear of change.
Here is where it can be especially helpful to get feedback from a trusted friend or colleague. Two heads are better than one, and when we air out our thoughts we gain greater clarity and insight. Essentially we want to "perception-check" or get feedback on whether our strategy is understandable and our plan potentially beneficial.
Next question "How can I make this better?" This question is not about perfectionism but rather creativity and forward thinking. Another way to ask this question is "How can I make this more efficient?"
When we are clear that our desired outcome is functionality, efficiency, productivity, and good use of energy, we can then define strategies by which we may achieve these outcomes. Once we have our goal, we can course correct and adapt according to what assists or hinders the desired outcome.
Our minds are powerfully creative and here to assist if we take the time to reflect and inquire. When you ask questions, and then give yourself time to reflect, you brain can then come up with creative solutions that may not have arisen without deliberate inquiry.
Is there an area in your life you would like to improve? What works? What is not working? How can you make this better? You just might find that these solution focused inquiries inspire creativity and create a positive impact in your life and the lives of others, so that each year improves upon the other and has ripple effects that extend far beyond those 40 chances.