Lessons from a farmer

A farmer indeed is a wise person. He is the bread provider of the world. Without him the world would go hungry and waste. Hence he may be called the wisest person in the world.

He is wise because he knows the secret to success. He brings out success from the cursed land. He successfully uses his knowledge and skill to feed the world.

He is an entrepreneur whose success is shared with the world. His success is life to the world; his failure is the death of the world.

He proclaims excellent lessons for success.

1.    Faith in the laws of the Universe

The universe has certain laws that are never violated. These laws are fixed, as if declared by an unchanging emperor.

The farmer believes in the laws of sowing and reaping. They are universal, eternal and unchanging. Even if one does not believe, or disagrees, universal laws do not change. Our favourable arguments or unsympathetic criticisms have no effect on them. Universal laws behave like a dictator. We are bound to live by the laws.

Three of them are:

1.      There is a time for sowing and reaping

2.      You reap only if you sow

3.      You reap what you sow

2.    Willing to invest or sacrifice

The second lesson that a farmer render is his willingness to invest. In another way he is willing to sacrifice his best for a better and more harvest. In accordance with the laws of the universe the farmer sows first. The farmer sows the best he has saved from the last harvest. He knows that only the best can produce the best. He always wants the best. So he invests the best.

He sows even in hard times. Famine does not stop him from sowing. The only way to overcome famine is to sow the best he has.

Sacrifice is a secret to success.

He knows well that sowing is not a happy time. Sowing is a time of tears. He is giving up what is left with him. He is burying whatever he has.

Every investment is associated with an uncertainty. It may prosper or may fail. There is risk in the process of success. But it is a worthy risk. No risk, no success.

It is hard to give up what is left in the store. It is hard to trust the uncertainty of a better harvest. But you reap only if you sow.

3.        Perseverance

The third notable character of a farmer is that he is an epitome of long suffering. By long suffering I mean long patience. None can harvest on the next day of sowing. Everything needs a time for hatching; a time to take shape and mature.

It is the hardest part of sowing and reaping - waiting for the fulfilment of a dream. But it is an unavoidable part. None can skip over this phase of the processes. Every dream demands days and months for its fulfilment.

To cross these days he has to rely on the unchanging character of the universal law. Every seed that is sown is sure to grow into a harvest.

There is no substitute for perseverance. There is no better short cut to success.

4.    Nurturing his dream

Days of perseverance are not days of inaction. They are not days of rest. They are active days. The seed needs good soil, sunlight and water for a healthy growth. To provide these in time and in place is nurturing the seed.

The seed grows into a tiny bud, into a small fragile plant, into a stronger plant and then yields fruits for harvest.

It needs care and protection from the farmer.

The farmer never sits idle after sowing the seed until the harvest. He goes to his seed, the tiny plant and cares for it, every day.

Your dream needs nurturing. It needs caring and protecting.

Do never ignore the fact that there are enemies to your dreams. From carnivorous wild animals to little foxes are waiting to destroy your dream. They may come in different shapes and sizes. Unexpected are the ways of our enemies. Many have fallen into the trap of these forces and lost their sheep. The one who stand unto the last will be rewarded.

5.    Hard work + patience + God' blessing

Perseverance coupled with perspiration is the secret to every success. There is nothing, no other formula that can substitute the combination of perspiration and perseverance.

A farmer cares not whether it is a sunny day or a cloudy day. He works hard. He is committed to his work. He is not a person who gives orders from his palace. He is in the field, may be along with his co workers. He bears the scorch of the sun and the mocking of the rain. His skin goes dark and wrinkles may visit him early.

He knows the secret that hard work always returns with reward. It is an unchallenged soldier in the war field. None can defeat it. Perspiration is always rewarded.

Hard work is backed by perseverance. It also needs the backing of supernatural blessings. For those who do not admit an interference of a supernatural power, let us say, hard work needs the support of the unchanging universal laws.

The farmer needs early rain and latter rain. Rain or sunshine cannot be beckoned by any farmer. They fall on the earth without the will and permission of any man. Such things are blessings and curses. Early rain and later rain or say rain at proper time is a blessing to the farmer. The farmer knows this secret.

6.    Reap at the harvest time

Harvest time is a time for reaping. Harvest time does not come always. None can harvest whenever he wishes. None harvests before or after the time. A farmer looks to it, he catches the right time and never misses the harvest. He has been working for it, he has been looking for it. It is the time of success.

Act at the right time. Reap when the field is ripe. One who misses the harvest time will be left without food and seed for another sowing. He is a failure.

7.    A farmer never accepts failure

A farmer never accepts failure. Failure is death for him. He sows again and again even if he fails to reap. Sowing is life for him.

Failures are only temporary setbacks for him. He is to win or die. So he returns back to his field with new energy and vigour.

For a farmer, causes of failure are not his choice. He has done his part well. He sowed in time. He nurtured the seed and the plant. With long suffering he waited for the early rain and the latter rain. But inimical forces outside his capacity turned against his harvest.

His harvest may be defeated by a bad weather, wild animals, and diseases or by many factors like these. But these are not his choice; and hence unexpected and unwelcome.

It may happen. But nothing can destroy him. He always bounces back. He is the final victor. He is born to win.

Live as a victor, not as a victim.

Professor Jacob Abraham