Climax, Minnesota. Population 264. My hometown.

It was a great place to grow up. It was a community of stoic Scandinavian farmers who cared about family, the land, church, education, and the weather.

Farmer lessons

Farming was the way of life.  The school calendar and activities, church programs, and community events were scheduled around planting, harvest, and the frequent flooding of the Red River.

When I worked in corporate America, I would give special attention to applicants who grew up on a farm. Why? They know how to work.

Farmers know that if you want a good crop, you have to work at it. You can’t procrastinate on the planting. You can’t wait for someone else to pick up your slack. It’s not enough to “hope” that the beans or the wheat or the corn comes up. If you don’t do the work, you won’t have a crop to harvest.

The lesson I learned as a young girl: You reap what you sow.

The same principle is applicable to other parts of our lives.

Life lessons

This is what I’m continuing to learn…

If you want to get a strong performance review, you do the hard work.
If you want a healthy relationship, you put time into nurturing it.
If you want to lose weight, you put down the ice cream and pick up the weights.

You reap what you sow.

The principle also works in reverse…
If I am lazy with my business, the clients will stop calling.
If I don’t spend time with the people who matter most to me, the relationships die.
If chocolate becomes my daily favorite food item…well, you know what happens then!

You reap what you sow.

Where have you seen a rich harvest in your life? Where have you seen positive results because you put the time and/or energy into something important?

I’d love to hear your story.