Home
>
Small Business
>
Your Business and the Story of a Tree; Part One

Your Business and the Story of a Tree; Part One

This morning, I went to take a short walk outside. I've been feeling a little more flexible since this weekend, and I figured a stroll would help me keep that liquid feeling in my bones that I've missed so much.

I stopped when I came to a tree and had myself a sit-down.

Have you ever gazed at the glory of a tree? I'll spare you the poem (you know the one, "I think that I shall never see..."). But I must say that trees have been one of the chief inspirations of my life, number two behind natural bodies of water.

You can easily miss the marvel of oaks and pines in the midst of the daily bustle. They really are miracles when you think about it.

One day, years ago, the wind, or a happy world citizen like you or me, put a tiny seed in the ground, maybe smaller than a pea, or about as big as the tip of your thumb.

Each day water from heaven or from a heaven-sent caretaker would caress or massage the ground with moist blessings. Each day the sun would whisper from behind clouds at it, or scream in a blistering tone.

And for weeks, months even, it seemed as if nothing was happening.

But underground, far below where you or I could witness, molecules were bumping into each other, atoms were hopping around, electrons were spinning. Then after a time roots began to spiral out into the soil.

And long after anyone human was really giving it any daily, specific thoughts beyond routine tendering, a little sprout started pushing up through the earth.

A dozen or a few hundred years later, there I am, sitting under the tree, thinking about trees and business.

The lessons nature volunteers us are fascinating, if only we'd listen. Our businesses, big and small, are like these trees. We put $1000, $200, $3 million into the investments that form our ventures - saved, borrowed, earned from past sales.

Every day we do a little more. Sometimes we do a lot more. And we, in our human impatience, often watch the location where we buried our money, looking for signs of life the very next day, sometimes the next hour.

"I bought this computer three months ago. How come there isn't cash coming out of the DVD drive?"

Seems like a ridiculous question right now, doesn't it?

But we behave that way all the time. I'm guilty of it too. Many is the time that I've whined about how some new promotional idea I'm testing didn't return my deposit of time or money in 3 days.

Then all of a sudden, on that fourth day, I have more sales in 24 hours than I had the whole week before.

Sometimes it takes even longer. I used to look at people who would come on the Net, buy a couple of ebooks and fall bass ackwards into cash 90 days later. And I'd think "Why not me? What am I missing? What did they do that I didn't?"

And the lesson I learned from that seven year experience were two things.

(Seven years including the small time, inconsistent returns I used to have before I really started to learn to study and be patient. As I've said before, I started making advertising money about two years in, enough to feel like an extra paycheck a month)

I'll tell you my lessons learned in part two....

Tinu is a web site promotion specialist and the author of several books on search engines, blogging, and RSS. You can read more tips on branding your business with a blog at free traffic tips.

no-contract cleaning service Mundelein ..

In The News:

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

A new phishing scam targets family photos with fake "Cloud Storage Full" alerts. Criminals steal credit card information through fake sites. Learn protection tips.

South Korean scientists create ultra-thin fabric muscles that turn clothes into robotic assistants, lifting 33 pounds while weighing under half an ounce.

Your Business and the Story of a Tree; Part One

Small Business