The best time to plant a tree is always twenty years ago, and the second-best time to plant the tree will always be now. This is nearly a universal truth. The analogy here is that the only way you can live your best life possible is when you get a chance to build upon the works of others that have gone ahead of you. If that infrastructure does not exist, life is harder and progress is very, very slow. It is your job to identify such gaps in your world and then set out to see how things could change over time.
It takes vision, patience and some measure of selflessness to plant a tree. You have to ignore the hunger pangs of today in favour of the abundance the tree would make possible when it matures in the future. This is where it gets tricky; how do we ignore the needs of today to focus solely on long-term projects? Yet, there is no other way to usher in a better world. It might be easier to pluck from other trees, or plant shrubs instead, but they all lack the long-lasting impact of a good tree.
A true Watchman sooner or later realises that energy is actually best invested into projects that will don’t yield a return instantly. You might go broke for years while you await the maturity of your “tree project”. And that is OK, because once the tree reaches maturity, not only will it change your life forever, it will also provide an enabling environment for others.
Dear watcher, what is your 10-year project?
