Hey, it looks like you're new here. Enjoy reading and remember to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for stopping by!

Once when I was a little girl our neighbor asked me if I would take care of her back yard while she was away on vacation. She said she’d give me 10 dollars to see to things for two weeks.

10 dollars! Wow. I was flabbergasted. That was a lot of money back then.

I agreed  immediately, of course, and started planning the terrific things I would buy with all that money. It was a windfall, I’ll tell you. My planning didn’t stop there, though. I decided I would start up my own business taking care of yards during summer vacations. I’d be rich. The money would be rolling in.

The big day arrived and my neighbor drove off into the sunset, leaving me in anticipation of impending wealth, waving happily from the curb. I dashed over to her yard and surveyed the situation.
Hmmm. Roses, geraniums, a bit of ivy. They’ll need trimming, I estimated. Two trees, several bushes. Yep, there’ll be leaves to rake. A good sized lawn – think of the weeds, I cautioned myself. A patio and a long pathway to sweep. I took it all in. Inspected my new place of employment, the scene of my modest beginnings. I knew where everything was and I was up to the job.

Two weeks long I hovered over that yard. I trimmed and pruned. I raked and swept. I weeded and plucked. Every rake, broom, cutter and tweaker I touched was returned back to the exact spot I had found it in. I was conscientious. I was meticulous. I was exhausted.

I checked the yard one last time before her expected return. Everything was clean, orderly and tidy, just the way she liked it. Everything was trimmed, swept, raked and tweaked. Nothing was out of place, not even a leaf.
Somehow, though, it just didn’t really look right. I couldn’t quite pinpoint it. But no matter, I had worked my fingers to the bone and that’s what counted. I had done a lot.

As my neighbor drove up, I beamed from the sidewalk. “I’ve really been busy.” I told her expansively. “I swept, raked, pruned, trimmed and tweaked.” She smiled and stepped behind the house to have a look. Had she not been holding on to the gate, she might have fallen over in a faint.  ”AAARRRRGH! You spent two weeks sweeping, raking, pruning and who knows what else, but you didn’t water even once.”

I looked over at the yard and saw the problem. Everything did sort of look brown and wilted. I had been as busy as a bee, but during all that time, I had neglected to water.

By the look on her face I could tell that I wasn’t going to be able to use her as a reference for my fledgling business.

As it turned out, I didn’t start up a yard business that summer, or any summer afterward for that matter. I did, however, gain something that day:

Success doesn’t come from doing things right. It comes from doing the right things.

Being a busy bee and doing things right isn’t going to get you anywhere, if those things you’re doing aren’t the right things. And interestingly enough, doing the right things is generally not nearly as difficult and strenuous as doing the wrong things right. I speak here from experience.

So, if you’re busy concentrating on doing things right and success is keeping you waiting, then maybe you’re busy doing the wrong things right, and just not doing the right things. Right?!

Happy watering,
Lisa

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!