The Law of the Farmer is one of the great success truths of all time. You can find this truth in the ancient book of Matthew found in the Bible.

The Great Teacher went down to the sea shore and a great crowd amassed around him. Everywhere he went, the crowds would gather. The Great Teacher looked over the crowd ready to hang onto His every word. He stepped into a small boat and was pushed a few feet from shore. In this way, the masses would not only be able to see Him more clearly, but would be able to hear Him more effectively as well.

The Great Teacher opened His mouth to speak. A hush came over the immense gathering of humanity. The Great Teacher said, "A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them."

Let's stop right here and see what this has to say to us today. The seed fell on the path and birds came and ate the seed. Hmm! What does that mean? Well, I believe that some people get set in their ways. They like the old way of doing things. They like the old way of seeing things. And they like everything to stay the same. These people are not willing to change and grow. You position your product or service to this individual (you plant a seed). This person is so closed minded that they don't even see the opportunity so the seed is stolen away, in this case by the birds.

Let me give you an example. For how many years have some medical doctors disagreed with the practice of Chiropractic? Too long to count. Many of them aren't even willing to consider the possibility that chiropractic care could help their patient. Their patient is not getting better but they would prefer to fail their patient then to open their eyes to refer them to a doctor of chiropractic. My family doctor is different. He had no problem with me seeing my chiropractor Dr. Paul Juszczyk. Why? Because his eyes are open.

Now, you might be thinking, "what if the person I am talking with is closed minded? What if they are the seed that falls on the path? What do I do?" My advice is do nothing. Move on to the next prospect. You see, their hardness of mind and heart is not your issue. It is theirs. You did your part. You planted a seed. In this case, it just didn't grow and that is not your fault.

Let's get back to the story. The Great Teacher said, "Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The plants sprang up quickly, but they soon wilted beneath the hot sun and died because the roots had no nourishment in the shallow soil." What does this mean for us? Well, some prospects for your product/service get very excited about what they are hearing and seeing. The challenge is that they take no action. Because they do nothing, the motivation begins to fade away to where in a very short time the seed begins to die. One of the ancient writings says, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was." Without action, many seeds will die. So, what should we do? Get the prospect to take action. Get them to make the appointment, fill out the form, whatever, but they must take action immediately or we will lose them.

Next part of the story reads, "Other seeds fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the tender blades." The thorns could be the other stresses in our lives that preoccupy our minds. When a prospect has a thorn there is not much you can do. The timing may be wrong. You did everything you could possibly do. You planted your seed. Now, it is a waiting game. Contact the prospect on a regular basis to stay in touch. But don't just call them up and say, "Hi. Just wanted to give you a call to touch base." Yuk!! You got to give them value. That is why I like newsletters and ezines. It is a great way to stay in touch and at the same time add value for them. Pack your newsletters with helpful articles that are going to improve their lives and reduce the stress (the thorns).

The Great Teacher finishes His story with, "But some seeds fell on fertile soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand." Why do some seeds produce more than others? I haven't a clue. But the truth is that some do and we don't have to be concerned with the "why." All we have to do is plant the seeds, water them and fertilize them, and be ready to bring in the harvest.

Another time, the Great Teacher said, "Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks." I think this teaches us not to give up. To be persistent. If you are digging for gold, you will have to uncover a lot of dirt to find a nugget, but if you keep asking, seeking, and knocking, you will find the nugget. And the nugget is always worth it. It was Calvin Coolidge who said, "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than the unsuccessful man with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent..." Stay the course and you will be successful. The Law of the Farmer works and it will work for you too.

This article is excerpted from Mark Bowser's upcoming book The 3 Pillars of Success.



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Every decision forfeits all other opportunities we had before we made it. We can't be two places at the same time. In their excellent management book, Tradeoffs, Drs. Greiff and Munter discuss the difficult options that face us in all areas of our lives. One case in point illustrates a common opportunity cost. It's a true anecdote they call, "Bicycle vs. Mother": "John is a precocious eight-year-old boy. Both his parents work. His mother is a management consultant and travels frequently. After being away for several days, she arrived home late one night and hugged her son.

He said, 'Mom, I missed you. Why were you away so long?'

She smiled and replied, 'One of the reasons I was away was to make enough money to buy you the bicycle you wanted.'

Young John looked at her reflectively and stated, 'Mom, I really did want the bicycle. But mothers are more important than bicycles. So please stay home more.'" Even though we all are aware of the tradeoffs of "quality time vs. quantity time" in our relationships, we are not used to thinking specifically about how our decisions cost us other opportunities. Without this understanding, our decisions will often be unfocused and unrelated to helping us achieve our most important goals.

This week be more aware of the "opportunity cost" and use this to help you make great decisions!

Denis Waitley

Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright 2007 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

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The knowledge era's new leaders, many of whom are immigrants and women, are managing change by conceiving innovative organizations and novel ways to attract and motivate employees. They are learning to be proactive instead of reactive, and to appreciate the full importance of relationships and alliances. They also have a healthy aptitude for risk and perseverance, and know how to gain strength from setbacks and failure. Life's Batting Average

Baseball's greatest hitter grew up near my neighborhood in San Diego. When Ted Williams slugged for the Boston Red Sox, my father and I kept a record of his daily batting average. And when I played Little League ball, my dad told me not to worry about striking out. In Williams's finest year, dad reminded me, the champion failed at the plate about 60 percent of the time.

Football's greatest quarterbacks complete only six out of ten passes. The best basketball players make only half their shots. Even with satellite mapping and expert geologists, leading oil companies make strikes in only one out of ten wells. Actors and actresses auditioning for roles are turned down twenty-nine in thirty times. And stock market winners make money on only two out of five of their investments.

Since failure is a given in life, success takes more than leadership beliefs and solid behavioral patterns. It also takes an appropriate response to the inevitable, including an effective combination of risk-taking and perseverance. I meet many individuals who are seeking security at all costs, and avoiding risk whenever and wherever possible. Knowing that certain changes would make success much more likely for them, they nevertheless take the path of least resistance: no change. For the temporary, often illusory comfort of staying as they are, they pay the terrible price of a life not truly lived.

Parable of the Cautious Man
There was a very cautious man, who never laughed or cried. He never risked, he never lost, he never won nor tried. And when he one day passed away, his insurance was denied, For since he never really lived, they claimed he never died.

In other words, missed opportunities are the curse of potential. Just after the Great Depression, Americans, perhaps understandably at the time, took many steps intended to minimize risk. The government guaranteed much of our savings. Citizens bought billions of dollars worth of insurance. We sought lifetime employment and our unions fought for guaranteed annual cost-of-living increases to protect us from inflation. This security-blanket mentality has continued in recent decades as executives awarded themselves giant golden parachutes in case a merger or takeover took their plum jobs.

These measures had many benefits, but the drawbacks have also been heavy, even if less obvious. In our eagerness to avoid risk, we forgot its positive aspects. Many of us continue to overlook the fact that progress comes only when chances are taken. And the security we sought and continue to seek often produces boredom, mediocrity, apathy and reduced opportunity. We still hear much about security, especially from federal and state politicians. But total security is a myth except, perhaps, for those six feet underground in the cemetery. We may indeed ask our government for guaranteed benefits. But we must be aware that when a structure starts with a floor, walls and ceilings will follow. And herein lies a paradoxical proverb: You must risk in order to gain security, but you must never seek security.

When security becomes a major goal in life - when fulfillment and joy are reduced to merely holding on, sustaining the status quo - the risk remains heavy. It is then a risk of losing the prospects of real advancement, of not being able to ride the wave of change today and tomorrow. Had the founders of Yahoo, Amazon.com and America Online been concerned with immediate profits and return on investment, we would not be enjoying those Internet services today, each of which has a greater market capitalization than IBM or General Motors.

Seek to risk a little more this week!

-- Denis Waitley

Reproduced with permission from the Denis Waitley Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley's Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com Copyright 2007 Denis Waitley International. All rights reserved worldwide.

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"There is not use whatever trying to help people who do not help themselves. You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb himself."
~ Andrew Carnegie

"The man who acquires the ability to take full possession of his own mind may take possession of anything else to which he is justly entitled."
~ Andrew Carnegie

On Partnership: "Mr. Morgan buys his partners; I grow my own."
~ Andrew Carnegie

"There was a man named Jabez who was more distinguished than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, 'Oh, that you would bless me and extend my lands! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!' And God granted him his request."
~ I Chronicles 4:9-10 The Holy Bible

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For information, email us at info@MarkBowser.com or call (513)252-GOAL.