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How are you evaluating the seeds you sow in your life?

How are you evaluating the seeds you sow in your life?

Books like those avos take time to cultivate. But they have longevity. An avo tree can live between 200-400 years. In contrast, a cherry tomato plant grown in a controlled environment lives only 2-5 years.

I recently had a well-meaning person approach my client and question her decisions about how she was spending her time. We all need to be mindful of what seeds we sow in our lives, but the way we evaluate how we spend our time depends on what our vision is or what we value. Our vision is as personal and unique as we are.

Seed means different things to different people.

 

Young avocado plants adorn the kitchen window of my eldest daughter, Margaret. It started as a bit of an experiment and then developed into a challenge between her and a family friend. As the battle of the avos continued, she had some failures and triumphs. But as she learned more about the plant, she realised she had a passion for growing things. A passion that I am sure is a bit of a spiritual throwback from her grandfathers.

My paternal grandfather grew orchids and my maternal grandfather grew roses. As they both passed away before my daughter was born, I suspect she developed a love of watching things grow from me. Except I do not have a passion for growing plants in the same way she does. I love to watch authors grow. I often catch a premature glimpse of their vision and can imagine what kind of influence they would have if their legacies continue to grow.

Books equal growth.

Many successful people have at least one book in their library that they believe has changed their lives. Then there are those who believe that, within the lessons of their personal stories, seeds can transform other people’s lives. Book writing requires you to invest time, passion and resources into yourself and your book writing project. Sometimes we only see the cost of the seed and not the value of the fruit.

So let’s re-look at those avos plants. Avos earn the reputation of being a super fruit because of their rich content of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. But to get the home-grown goodness of cultivating your own avo takes a level of patience few of us can manage. It takes weeks before you even see a crack in the stone and about 4 years before you plant will even bear fruit. I have grown a few cherry tomato plants. They take only 50 to 65 days to harvest. It gives me a bit of an instant gratification boost which I won’t get from growing avos. But I am mindful of how different these two plants are.

If you were thinking of becoming a farmer, you could expect to sell your crop of avos for US$4.82 and US$5.78 per kilogram or between US$2.19 and US$2.62 per pound (lb) in South Africa. In contrast, the retail price range for South Africa tomatoes is between US$0.02 and US$1.00 per kilogram or between US$0.01 and US$0.46 per pound (lb). If you are a bit of a research junkie like me. You can find these prices on Selina Wamuci’s website. They specialise in sourcing food and agricultural produce from smallholder cooperatives. Why the difference?

The time to grow an avo tree far exceeds the time to harvest cherry tomatoes. Yet the financial yield of the avo exceeds the cherry tomatoes.

Isn’t that just like the more worthy goals we have? The ones that have longevity take time.

Our vision needs various kinds of nutrients.

In the writing world, I see a shorter lead magnet as the cherry tomatoes. They are a quick way to get readers to sign onto your newsletter and become regular consumers of your content. But the book positions you as an authority in a way that blogging does not.

Those of you who are familiar with nutritional health teachings know we need a variety of fruit and veg in our diets for cellular health. Yet, too many of us have a hefty portion of our budgets spent on instant gratification foods that in the long-term harm us. Just like many people spend much of their lives pursuing things that have no long-term meaning or benefit.

Books like those avos take time to cultivate. But they have longevity. An avo tree can live between 200-400 years. In contrast, a cherry tomato plant grown in a controlled environment lives only 2-5 years. But a book… that knowledge is eternal. Publishers can reprint books again and again. You can leave the royalties to your children. Your experience has the power to transform lives.

So when you are taking advice about your writing career, think about what you want your yield to be. Maybe we all need to think a bit like my daughter. Think past the here and the now and what your legacy could be.

Is your legacy worth investing into?

Copyright Kim Vermaak 2024

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Hello, I am Kim Vermaak

I spent most of my adult life helping other companies build their dream and their brands.

After I turned 40, I wondered if there was more to life than taking care of children and slaving away to earn a living.

I wanted to create a legacy for my children and the next generation. I found that through my books I could celebrate who I am as well as teach others to earn a living through their writing.

Being an author is not a hobby. It is a business, and it is my passion to teach authors how to thrive in that business. I look forward to seeing your book business grow.

Your Book Whisperer

Kim

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BookSirens is a legitimate resource for authors and readers alike that can help readers find books they’ll love, while matching authors with prospective reviewers so they can get more honest reviews.

What Kim was able to offer me in terms of insight, price with her experience in understanding the needs of authors was outstanding. Kim is not only creative, but she takes on your views and comments willingly and it’s professional open process.
Colin
Horror Author
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