Last week I spoke to a wonderful group of women at one of the finer hotels. The subject was on the topic of choosing the right plant for the right spot. I explained that in Florida everything grows at such a fast pace that all need to be careful not to plant too close. It's important to understand that when this happens the plants grow together and the balance of the whole design becomes messed up. I also talked about and gave some examples as to how a proven professional landscaper is well worth the money and will actually save you money in the long run! All agreed that they have over many years made the wrong choice and then have to redo the landscape every 3 years or so. I then took questions and answers and they really didn't want me to leave so it really made me feel good. I appreciated the fact that as a club they get out and do fun things, such as simulated sky diving, etc... I also loved the fact that they raise money for charity. We had a fantastic lunch and several of them asked me if it was odd for me to be the only man in such a big woman's group. I explained that I prefer to hang with the woman as they are usually the ones who make thing's happen in the yard! I went on to tell them that for 15 years I have met with about 10 woman or so in a book club where we study popular best sellers usually with some sort of philosophical edge and that we have incredible discussions as few of us agree all the time! They all wanted to join my closed group but I told them that my bar-be-que is not big enough to have them all over! I am the sole man representing the man's point of view which is important as often we tend to think quite differently but that's the part I like and this is how we all learn from each other. My group is mostly school teachers who truly have a thirst for knowledge and we have a blast, laughing and sometimes emotionally helping someone get through a hard time with family, work etc... Many people often tell me that my purpose is to tell the world about plants but to tell you the truth I really think my purpose is to help the person in any way that I can. I know the trick is to go through life appreciating each and every minute and I think you get more out of life that way. In my motivational book, "Lifting The Mind Fog", I purposely made the first chapter, The Art Of Appreciation, as I think so many of us take the people in our lives for granted. So each day I wake up and truly look forward to meeting some great people that day, weather I am doing an estimate or a landscape job or chatting with the lady making my sandwich at the sub shop. Sadly, I do know people who go through their day very unhappy with their jobs, I tell them to change their job but they are not serious enough to do it. Sometimes I think they just get in the habit of complaining and it actually becomes a slice of their personality. Probably, not the best way to make positive friends. My best friend, Cesar, is a former Davis Cup champ, he never complains and we both make it a point to always build our friends up and we have some awesome friends. I also have a friend who was a Yankee baseball pitcher and he is the same way, very positive!
As you can tell this is a subject that is important to me.