1 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:09,840 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:16,320 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: tip is to plant seeds to enjoy the harvest. Spend 4 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:25,280 Speaker 1: some time on speculative work that you aren't sure will 5 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:30,640 Speaker 1: lead to anything. If you plant enough seeds, something will grow. 6 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 1: Enjoying a harvest requires patience and time, but couple those 7 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:40,120 Speaker 1: with hard work and it's amazing what you can reap. 8 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:45,840 Speaker 1: Later this week, my American listeners will be celebrating Thanksgiving. 9 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 1: Many of us are far removed from our agrarian roots, 10 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: but originally this holiday was about gratitude for the harvest. 11 00:00:55,880 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: Seeds sown many months ago sprout over the spring and summer, 12 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 1: then they produce their bounty come fall. It is something 13 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: of an annual miracle, but it also depends on a 14 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:13,399 Speaker 1: prescribed order of things. If you want to enjoy a 15 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: harvest come fall, you need to plant those seeds. Life 16 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:25,320 Speaker 1: is like that. Too Often, small investments made years ago 17 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: suddenly produce copious results, and so one key part of 18 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: success is making sure that you are always planting seeds. 19 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 1: You make small investments of time and effort that won't 20 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 1: automatically lead to anything but night. Success is a numbers game, 21 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 1: and the more you plant, the more you are likely 22 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: to sew. Building relationships is one obvious way to plant seeds. 23 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: One of the fun things about being in the same 24 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 1: business for many years is that people you met at 25 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: the beginning go on to do great things. No doubt 26 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:09,079 Speaker 1: you have seen this in your own life. You get 27 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: an email out of the blue from someone you worked 28 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:16,240 Speaker 1: with fifteen years ago. This person has a fantastic opportunity 29 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: and remembers your name. A planted seed has sprouted, So 30 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,640 Speaker 1: how do you plant more of such seeds? Mentoring is 31 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 1: always an excellent idea. Folks you've helped will certainly remember you. 32 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 1: Getting to know colleagues well and attending conferences and figuring 33 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:42,240 Speaker 1: out ways to collaborate with new people are always of 34 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: planting seeds. You can also plant seeds by producing some 35 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:49,280 Speaker 1: sort of content that can be out in the world 36 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:54,520 Speaker 1: speaking for you when you are not around. An article 37 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 1: in an industry publication will be there for years and 38 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:02,639 Speaker 1: people will find it and someone will want to connect 39 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: because of it. That seed grows. You do an interview 40 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: with a podcast that people in your industry listen to, 41 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: someone will hear something you said and realize you'd be 42 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:21,640 Speaker 1: perfect for an opportunity. That seed grows too. It is 43 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:26,080 Speaker 1: wonderful to do great work, but career growth isn't just 44 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: about doing the work in front of you. It's about 45 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: figuring out what you can do that might pay off 46 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: for future you. The key is might. Since you don't 47 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: know what seeds will sprout, it helps to plant a 48 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: lot of seeds, and sometimes this can be frustrating. I 49 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 1: have told the story many times of how I got 50 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 1: my first contract to write a time management book. An 51 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: executive at the publishing house saw a review I wrote 52 00:03:56,680 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 1: of a book that they had just published. He realized 53 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: test he'd seen my name elsewhere too. He wrote me 54 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 1: a note saying that if I wasn't under contract somewhere, 55 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:11,600 Speaker 1: he'd love to discuss book ideas. The result was a 56 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: book called one hundred and sixty eight Hours. It sounds 57 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:19,720 Speaker 1: like such a neat story, and yet I had been 58 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:23,039 Speaker 1: trying to land a book contract for about eighteen months. 59 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:27,720 Speaker 1: At that point I had lots of potential proposals out there. 60 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,120 Speaker 1: Among other things, I had written an eight part series 61 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,159 Speaker 1: for the Huffington Post on topics in my potential book, 62 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: something I did for no compensation, but just to get 63 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:45,240 Speaker 1: attention for my ideas. There were a lot of seeds 64 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:48,800 Speaker 1: out there. Eventually it was a random book review that 65 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,400 Speaker 1: did the trick, not because it was a particularly excellent 66 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: book review, but because eventually, if you plant enough, something 67 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 1: has to come up. We are all busy, so it 68 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 1: is hard to do work that you don't know will 69 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: lead to anything. It's hard enough to do the work 70 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:12,599 Speaker 1: that is a basic part of the job description. But 71 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 1: as with anything, I find it's helpful to give yourself 72 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:20,719 Speaker 1: a reasonable goal. I will spend two hours this week 73 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 1: on speculative work, or I will do five things that 74 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 1: might lead to something, even if I'm not sure what. 75 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: You keep doing this week after week and you see 76 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:38,040 Speaker 1: what happens. You might even call this your planting seeds 77 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: list and see how many entries you can put on 78 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 1: it and when things do happen well. This episode is 79 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:52,080 Speaker 1: about planting seeds to enjoy the harvest. I find the 80 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:56,240 Speaker 1: enjoying part is important here too. We can get so 81 00:05:56,480 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 1: wrapped up in planting seeds that we forget to celebrate 82 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: the ones that have sprouted. Everyone is a little miracle 83 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: and key for this podcast represents some pretty massive time 84 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:15,279 Speaker 1: savings in our pursuit of life goals. Those of us 85 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:18,159 Speaker 1: who run our own businesses know that when a potential 86 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: new client reaches out to you because they heard you 87 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 1: speak somewhere, that is a much more efficient way to 88 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:31,720 Speaker 1: land work than you cold pitching dozens of people. If 89 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:34,920 Speaker 1: you'd like an exciting new job, hearing from an old 90 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: colleague that she is now the CEO of a startup 91 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 1: that is hiring like crazy is much better than sending 92 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:48,320 Speaker 1: out resumes into the void. So celebrate any massive wins 93 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:52,280 Speaker 1: like this to enjoy your harvest. One of my favorite 94 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:55,400 Speaker 1: ways to do so is to give myself back some 95 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 1: of the time I have saved. Take little vacations during 96 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:02,840 Speaker 1: the workday. You could take a walk or bike ride 97 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 1: somewhere lovely while it's still light out. A trip to 98 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,040 Speaker 1: a museum or boutique with limited hours can be a treat, 99 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 1: and coffee with a friend could be two. You are 100 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:20,360 Speaker 1: probably still far ahead, and then think about how you 101 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 1: can plant more seeds. Can you set up more conversations, 102 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: do more favors, create more content. It's fun to think 103 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:35,000 Speaker 1: about the possibilities you are creating, rather than that this 104 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: is more work you are doing. You are planting seeds 105 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: to enjoy the future harvest, which you will no doubt 106 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: reap in time. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks 107 00:07:51,600 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: for listening and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, 108 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:05,920 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me 109 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with 110 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. 111 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:19,960 Speaker 1: That's b E the number four then Breakfast pod. You 112 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,440 Speaker 1: can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts 113 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled out 114 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I look 115 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:37,720 Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production 116 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:43,120 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 117 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.