Greenfingers: a movie with a message

In 2000, a movie with a message was released.  I didn't hear about it and didn't see it.  Greenfingers is on its way to our home via Netflix.  I just watched the trailer and couldn't be more excited.  Probably, it's a little sappy and a little predictable, but I see nothing wrong with that.  What I'm most excited about, while I'm looking forward to watching the movie, is the message.  It's a message that I need for reinforcement on those days that I'm trudging along the work/career path, and it's a message that could offer inspiration to lots of small business owners that I see.

The male lead says, "After 15 years in prison, I had accepted that this was all my life would always be."

How many of us (raise your hands) have found ourselves saying something similar? We've been hard at work, we've been giving it our best, we've been getting knocked down...This sucks, so we begin to believe that this is how it will always be--this is all there is for us and for our business.

In the same movie, when a gardening program is introduced, the same male lead says that he doesn't want to be a gardener; he is a prisoner.  The wise older prisoner says, "...we've been prisoners all our lives.  Let's be gardeners!"  Yes, let's all break out of our prisons, our ruts, our belief that we cannot do better--let's be gardeners, instead!  Here's the bizbuzzz.

Gardeners vs. Prisoners
I say, let the gardener in you win!  Why not?  Is there anything to lose in doing so, in letting go of negative beliefs? Let's take a look at both methods as they relate to business and marketing:

Prisoners: stuck, depressed, no control over outcomes, negative, dark, in a rut, dead, sad, given up.

Gardeners: free, happy, colorful, potential, influence outcomes, positive, sun-shiny, sharing, caring, giving, building, growing, feeding, proud.

You know, gardeners share seeds and cuttings of plants with fellow gardeners, but they also ask and receive the same from the others. 

If you're in a rut, if you're feeling that you are a prisoner of your business and marketing efforts, perhaps all you need to do is borrow a few seeds from a fellow gardener, plant and maintain those seeds with caring and enthusiasm, give it all a little time and see if you don't notice a positively sunny change.  I certainly hope you have a blooming good time trying!