When Nate Berkus paid a visit to Oprah at her home in Montecito, CA, she showed him (and us) her field of blooming lavender. It was glorious and \u00a0occupied at least an acre of her property.\u00a0It was obvious that Oprah enjoyed sharing this favorite spot with all of us.<\/p>\n
Since I\u2019ve resumed gardening, I understand her pleasure. Visitors to my home are given a garden tour as soon as they arrive.<\/p>\n
My little garden bears no resemblence to Oprah\u2019s vast estate, however. It is located on the long, skinny balcony that runs across the front of my condo.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m learning to keep things alive despite the intense heat that arrives every afternoon as the sun blasts my garden for several hours. The bordering pear trees provide shade for some of the day, thank goodness, and that makes growing a bit easier for all of my herbs and flowers.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s lavender in my garden, too, but it\u2019s a single pot, not a field. It gives me as much pleasure, I suspect, as Oprah\u2019s gives her. I plan to add another pot of a more fragrant variety than the one I began with.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been nearly a dozen years since I created my last garden and every day this new one brings me pleasure. In a garden\u2014or a business\u2014one idea or activity tends to spawn another and another. I love watching the evolutionary process in action.<\/p>\n
This one, like my previous gardens, has reminded me of another important thing. It is, in fact, one of the basic principles of my goal-setting philosophy. When making a change or enriching your life, \u00a0expand from where you are with what you\u2019ve got.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n That seems so obvious to me, but not everyone seems to realize that you don’t have to wait for perfect conditions or a large windfall or a Montecito estate in order to begin.<\/p>\n Have you ever noticed that folks who complain about everything they don\u2019t have aren\u2019t very good at using what they do have? Bemoaning what\u2019s missing, tends to make what\u2019s present invisible.<\/p>\n That is not the road to happiness or accomplishment.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also not necessary. “Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that,” said the wise Norman Vincent Peale.<\/p>\n Entrepreneurs seem to make mobilizing the resources at hand into an art form. They discover that turning on their imagination opens the door to opportunities that are right at their fingertips.<\/p>\n So what are you going to plant this week? Or beautify? Or mobilize? How can you put something to work on your behalf that you already have?<\/p>\n After all, a garden or a business doesn\u2019t have to be big in order make a beautiful difference.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When Nate Berkus paid a visit to Oprah at her home in Montecito, CA, she showed him (and us) her field of blooming lavender. It was glorious and \u00a0occupied at least an acre of her property.\u00a0It was obvious that Oprah enjoyed sharing this favorite spot with all of us. Since I\u2019ve resumed gardening, I understand…<\/p>\n