Sometimes, impactful lessons can be so simple. But it takes a wise teacher to be able to teach it.
Have you ever wondered why some people seem to always do well, be in control and abundant in their business? And why do some always seem to struggle, always fighting for the next client, always busy and on the edge of desperation?
Roger Whitney- the host of The Retirement Answer Man Podcast and the Rock Retirement Club, was our special guest expert last week inside of Membership Freedom. Roger has been a close friend of mine for about six years, and I have gotten a front row seat to not only his wisdom, but his evolution. We were in a mastermind together as he thought of the idea of starting a community to enhance the lives of his listeners. I saw all of the groundwork done, the time and effort put in, and the humble beginnings of a community that started with fourteen or fifteen people. When it began, he told his team that he would get a tattoo when they reached 1,000 paying members.
Earlier this year, he got that tattoo.
Whitney is one of those people that things always seem to work out for. At least in my eyes. He would tell you a different story. He’d tell you about the failures. The struggles. The uncertainty. The constant pivots that tweak things that could be better.
As he taught our community for more than an hour about the things that he did to build such a thriving, successful community, he made a fantastic analogy that caught the attention of a lot of Membership Freedom members.
You can watch the clip below of him explaining it, but Whitney starts off talking about the idea of people looking for food to survive. There are those that walk around picking berries. They walk through the bushes and trees, and they gather small berries in their hands. When you are a berry picker, you will probably eat that day, as long as there are berries to be found. But there are only so many berries that you can carry in your hands. And the next day, you will be hungry again and have to go find more berries. And you will have to do this every day, unless you stop to think of a different way.
Those who struggle are often berry pickers. Instead of berries, they are foraging for their next client. They wake up stressed because, the next day, they don’t have anything else to eat. Over time, this gets absolutely exhausting. Winter comes, and when you don’t store anything, you get hungry. And desperate. It’s the same with food, or with work. These people are constantly searching, and there eventually seems like no way out.
But Whitney described his approach, which couldn’t be more opposite. And I’ve seen him do this since the day I met him. Roger Whitney is an orchard builder. His focus isn’t on picking berries today. His focus is on creating something that has roots. That has a foundation. He knows it doesn’t happen overnight. It never does, and it shouldn’t.
When you build an orchard, your focus is on growing healthy trees. These trees need a seed. They need water, sunlight and time. Yes, time. It doesn’t just happen. But with consistency, you begin to grow roots. At this point, they aren’t deep or powerful, but they are foundational. They are building out something special for the future. The interesting thing is, at this point, you are probably picking berries. But only to survive for a little while. By building an orchard, you are creating a long-term plan. You can live on berries for a little while if you have a bigger and better plan in development.
And then one day, that tree produces an apple. And then another, and another. Before you know it, you don’t have to do anything and you will get more fruit than you would get in a month of berry picking. It also gets to the point that you couldn’t even eat all of the apples, even if you tried. Because there are so many, you can give them away or sell them. Your orchard now is helping others, as well as giving you more than you would ever need.
Roger Whitney is an orchard builder.
Being an orchard builder requires an entirely different mindset and approach than a berry picker. Berry pickers are traditionally too short-sighted to focus on the long term. The “but we need the money now” mindset trumps the “we can do with less, for now” The long-term relationship building gets set aside for the quick pitches and the desire to scale quickly.
Orchard builders don’t focus on scaling quickly. They focus on strengthening roots. They focus on consistency, while always looking for the right pivot and improvement. They know that strong orchards don’t grow fast just because they are hungry. And even if they are hungry, they know that by focusing on what matters most in the long term, they won’t be hungry for long.
Who are you?
A berry picker, or an orchard builder?
Have an AMAZING week!
Vincent
P.S. Learn more about Roger Whitney, The Retirement Answer Man HERE!
