There’s never a certainty of future rewards, but we go for it anyway or keep what we’ve got. ––the Wealthy Gardener
Would you work for years, sacrificing free time, with no certainty of pay? In the book The Wealthy Gardener, this is what was asked of Santos, the operations manager. He was asked to work with no promise of pay.
The proposition has been judged unfair by critics.
And yet this is exactly the dilemma we face when we venture into the unknown, chase our dreams, and strive to fulfil deep aspirations.
We must work without the promise of future rewards.
When I wrote the book, the process consumed 8-hour days and ultimately 40-hour weeks. Months passed, and then years. To gain the reward of a physical manuscript, I gave three years of my life.
Did I have any certainty of rewards? In truth, I did have the instant reward of working with my son on this project.
But when I decided to take the book public, I struggled terribly with the daily uncertainty that my efforts would be in vain. I chose to wake up and give the effort, day in and day out, with no promise of pay.
People too often want rewards without effort. Or at least they want the certainty of future rewards before they’ll give the effort.
But that’s not how life works.
There’s never a promise of future rewards, but we go for it anyway or we keep what we’ve got. This is a lesson behind all achievement.
-John Soforic, author of The Wealthy Gardener
