Most careers that are worth the time and effort, also require it. Time and effort.
The hustle can help, but it doesn’t eliminate the time requirement completely. As Warren Buffett would say, “you can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.”
Green thumbs have a term for this, they will tell you that the flower and the fruit grow on “old wood.”
We have several hydrangeas out back, but for years I couldn’t tell you what kind or color. Because they never bloomed. I treated them well. Watered regularly, gave them fertilizer, plenty of sun, and pruned them into a nice round shape. Really attractive, but with a small issue. No flowers. Despite all my effort.
Frustrated, I pulled up the ol’ google machine and started my investigation. It didn’t take long.
This is a common issue called impatience.
Hydrangeas bloom on “old wood.” They bloom on growth from the previous year. They start producing buds at the end of summer and those buds hang tight and do their thang for nearly nine months before they bloom the following spring. In my eagerness, I was cutting away those buds in my annual pruning, cutting back the old wood that was just getting primed to produce.
Patience, even laziness, would have produced better results.
We can find things that provide instant gratification, I’m just not sure they are worth the time.
With a bit of patience, you can produce something worthwhile year after year, but only if you are willing to wait on that old wood.
