Planting the Seed: Achieve your goals in the next 6 months
To get a pumpkin in October, you must plant the seed in May. Let's set goals and execute.
Weekly exploration aimed to inspire people to live with intention and create a more fulfilling and happier life.
Back in February, Victoria Monet accepted the Grammy for Best New Artist. News outlets, podcast hosts, and several of my close friends raved to me about her 15-year story that led to that moment, and her speech that left such a lasting impression. As someone who had never seen the Grammys, I was shocked at how much I had heard about Victoria Monet’s award in the following weeks.
I decided to dig a little deeper after hearing one of my favorite podcast hosts, Mel Robbins, talk about why this moment resonated with her daughter and why she loved the plant analogy so much. After listening to Monet’s words, it was clear to me that her story symbolizes hard work and dedication. She had big dreams and then set goals and pathways to get there.
That is what I want to explore today.
This week, I also saw a great meme that said, “27 Fridays until Halloween,” which not only got me very excited, but also reminded me that we have only half a year until Halloween will be at our doorstep again.
So, I decided to look up when the best time to plant a pumpkin seed is to get a full pumpkin to carve by Halloween. I discovered that it is May, and with the intention to publish this on May 2nd, it seemed too perfect of an analogy not to expand upon in today’s goal-setting exploration of With Intention.
Today, we will dissect Victoria Monet’s Analogy, dig deep into what we want out of life, and set goals, approaches, and frameworks to get there with intention.
Today’s flow:
Planting Seeds - The Idea
Water the Pumpkins - Our Environment
Roots - Hard Work
Sprouting - Results & Traction
Pollination - Catalyzers
Pumpkin - Goals & Opportunities
7. Conclusion
Now, let’s jump in.
Planting the Seed - The Idea
Let’s revisit Monet’s quote.
“This award was a 15-year pursuit,”
“I moved to LA in 2009 and I like to liken myself to a plant, who was planted…”
Let’s start with an exercise;
What is your Grammy moment?
If you were to picture yourself in 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years: where do you picture yourself when you think of waking up in the dream version of your life? Are you waking up in a beautiful apartment in New York City? Are you going public on the NASDAQ with the dream company you have worked so hard to build? Are you waking up a peaceful life in the countryside next to your partner and two beautiful children? Or maybe you want to travel the world - is your moment traveling to your 100th country? Is your dream to become an influencer, and you wake up with 10 million followers who support you daily?
If you can’t picture your biggest dream - maybe you need to start smaller and from a slightly more short-term, tangible perspective. You want to get back into regularly going to the gym, get 10,000 steps a day, or take 30 minutes a day to sit outside in the park and re-engage with your drawing and artistic side.
The fact is that we all have a dream, no matter how big or small it seems to us. Whether it is close or far away - we all have an idea that resonates deeply with us when we picture our most fulfilled self.
The whole point of this is to have an idea that can help you put yourself in a position to start growing. The beautiful thing about life is that we can change and grow with these goals. As we learn more about ourselves and the world around us, these goals will grow with us. But, what is really important, is the fact that we have something that motivates us everyday to show up and become better versions of ourselves.
That is your seed.
I can share mine - when I look 10 years down the road, I see myself waking up in a country home with an amazing, supportive husband and two children. We spend our time between New York City and the countryside to access the city's thought leaders and energy but also to ensure we are taking time for ourselves outside the city to be still and grounded in our development and parenting. I picture myself having a fulfilling career in Venture Capital, running a $50 million dollar biotech, longevity, and human performance fund, while continuing my work on “With Intention” to make wellness, neuroscience, and self-development accessible to anyone who is looking to become a better version of themselves.
This vision has been a work in progress for years, and the real version in my notes app on my iPhone is probably between 1,500 and 2,000 words long.
Now it is your turn. What is something really big that you would love to see yourself accomplish?
Stop here and take a moment. Write it down. Think it through.
Now, we are returning to our metaphor for our pumpkin seed.
The beautiful thing about a seed is that it already has everything it needs to become the full pumpkin inside it from the moment it is planted. That is why taking a moment to acknowledge the dream within you is important. Because that is all that is required - this dream is the beginning of something extraordinary, and you already have that within you.
Anytime you start to hesitate about your idea or think it is impossible, remind yourself of this: You have everything within you to accomplish that dream; otherwise, that idea would not have been planted inside you in the first place.
Water the Pumpkins - Our Environment
Back to Monet:
“This award was a 15-year pursuit,”
“I moved to LA in 2009 and I like to liken myself to a plant, who was planted, and you can look at the music industry as soil. It can be looked at as dirty or it can be looked at as a source of nutrients and water.”
I love the way Monet discusses the two sides of viewing her environment. It is so easy to think about all the ways existing structures can be viewed as “dirty” or “working against you,” or you can approach it with the mindset of “How is this helping me?” She sees the nutrients and water of this industry and the way it has helped her grow.
It is important to ensure you are in an environment that works for you. If we tried to plant a pumpkin seed in a glacier in Antarctica, it would not grow. In the same way that if you were stuck in an ice block, you would also not grow.
This begs the question: Is your seed in the environment to grow?
Creating the right environment for your goals and dreams is critical for their success.
In my own experience, I have worked in theme parks, fashion, and food and have only just landed in the world of Venture Capital in the last three years. Although I think each of the environments I was in prior has definitely helped me cultivate my dreams, it has never been clearer to me that the environment that I am in today is the one that will grow and nurture the acutalization of my seed most comprehensively.
If I want to start developing skills that would allow me to run a $50 million dollar fund in 5 years, I need to break that down into steps I can take today. When I think of the next 6 months, I want to get more exposure to companies that intrigue me on the intersection of biotechnology, neuroscience, and longevity. I aim to dig deep in the diligence and deal rooms of 5 companies and understand them through and through.
I will ask myself: Do I think they are a good value proposition or not? Would I invest in these companies or not? Is this team best suited for the success of this specific venture? For me to develop the skills of critical evaluation, problem-solving, and market analysis, I need to be in a space that allows me to do so.
I can confidently say that my environment is extremely conducive for me learning these traits, but if it weren’t, I would need to seek out how I could get access to this space and information externally. If venture capital wasn’t my full time job, I would likely look to join an investing group, find a non-profit focused on growing young entrepreneurs and investors, or start attending events where experienced investors and founders are.
There are many “first steps” that someone can take—and the great thing about having many routes is that if your chosen first step doesn’t pan out the way you expected, you can always pivot and try another “first step.”
So, think of your environment. Do you know what that first step is?
If you want to be an influencer - Are you in a space where you can make 10 pieces of content a month for the next 6 months? If you want to travel to 100 countries - does your environment allow you to take the time to plan 2-3 trips to see the world? If you want to find the partner of your dreams - can you go on 1 date a month or spend time consistently with someone who you think has the real potential to be that partner for you? If you want to move from marketing to finance - have you had the conversation with your boss about switching departments? If you want to better your long-term marriage, have you had the difficult conversation with a partner about why you don’t feel seen in your relationship right now?
You can think about doing these things, or you can actually take the first step and plant your seed in the environment that will help you actualize where you want to see yourself in the coming six months. If you want to ensure you get that pumpkin by October, plant the seed in an environment that will help it grow today.
Roots - Hard Work
“This award was a 15-year pursuit,”
“I moved to LA in 2009 and I like to liken myself to a plant, who was planted, and you can look at the music industry as soil. It can be looked at as dirty or it can be looked at as a source of nutrients and water. My roots have been growing underneath ground, unseen for so long.”
You have now identified that seed, planted it in an proper environment, watered that seed, and you are seeing the roots start to take hold. You got yourself out of the ice block and you have put yourself into a beautiful place to grow.
Although this starts to feel really good, the results aren’t fully where you want them to be yet. This is OK. Good things take time. We do not plant a pumpkin seed on a Monday and expect to carve it on Saturday.
Victoria Monet spent 15 years writing songs for other artists. She put in hard work into her craft and supported other artists to gather that knowledge, experience, and training.
Now let’s look back to you. Maybe you are in week one of learning to play the piano. Maybe you have started to take that 20 minutes walk after breakfast every morning to get your body moving. Maybe you have just started writing the table of contents for that book you’ve always dreamt of writing. Maybe you have taken the first interview to start working in the industry of your dreams. What is important is that you are starting to develop the habits needed to sustain growth, identifying areas to continue to develop, and building opportunities that allow you to take another step forward. You have set yourself up to start taking the action needed to build the roots that will eventually support the life of your dreams.
My roots for With Intention started to take hold when I decided to write out my ideas on all of the content I had been consuming for years around wellness, neuroscience, and self-development. I had never written anything before, so this was all new to me. I had not shared anything yet, but a profound mindset shift started to occur—I was able to start asking myself “Do I really understand these concepts in ways that I can effectively apply them to my life?”
I realized very quick that I had been consuming so much of this information, but really only taking action on maybe 10% of what I was learning.
If I wanted to share these ideas and start adding value to the life of the people around me, I knew I needed to dig deep and understand the topics and content I had been consuming. I started to write down my thought as I was listening to podcasts, I began reading with a pen in my hand so I could annotate the parts of books that I found particular compelling, and I started question more and ensure these concepts were taking root in my brain.
I sometimes doubted myself and questioned - am I even qualified to share my thoughts on this stuff? Would anyone want to hear what I have taken from this space? But I had to remind myself everyday - if no one found value in the information I share, at least I am learning it in a dilligent way to become a better version of myself, and every person that does benefit from me sharing my thoughts is an added bonus. In the same regard, if you ever doubt yourself, just remind yourself - you would not have been given that dream if you were not supposed to make it come true.
Roots are important as they are the base foundation for everything else to grow. It takes a rootbase that is 3 feet deep and 6 feet across all for a single pumpkin grow.
It took Victoria Monet 15 years to get on that stage - how long have you been at your goal? Every single day you stick to your personal development, those roots expand, so continue those good habits, get those reps in to gain skills, and keep focused on the hard work that is setting you up for success. It is from those roots that you will start to sprout for you to continue to grow.
Sprouting - Results & Traction
“This award was a 15-year pursuit,”
“I moved to LA in 2009 and I like to liken myself to a plant, who was planted, and you can look at the music industry as soil. It can be looked at as dirty or it can be looked at as a source of nutrients and water. My roots have been growing underneath ground, unseen for so long. I feel like today, I’m sprouting, finally above ground.”
In Monet’s final portion portion of her analogy - she is finally above ground and sprouting. She is feeling seen for the first time in her career for her work.
I love that she is only saying that she sprouted—I would have expected someone in this position to be the full pumpkin, but once she got here, she realized just how much more she has in here. There is no doubt in my mind that with her seed, her environment, and the strong root system that she has developed, that we are going to be seeing so much more of her.
The same goes for you. One you set this base foundation, develop areas of opportunity and growth, then start putting the game plan in action, you are going to see just how much you are capable of. The goals you once thought were your ultimate desire will seem like just a stepping stone to achieving even bigger things down the road.
Sprouting will show you that you are just getting started. You can think bigger, achieve more, and surround yourself with good energy set goals and achieve your dreams.
Pollination - Catalyzers
Although Monet never directly addresses the pollination part of the analogy in her speech, when watching the clip, it was impossible for me to miss how much she keeps turning to her support system behind her and thanking them.
“I would like to thank my team of visionaires. Rochelle, thank you so much.”
“I just want to tell a small story… There was a binder that I made to take this really important meeting at a label. And I thought I was going to be signed. I was an independent artist with no team, and I just thought that maybe my music would stand for itself, but that binder left collecting dust in that office at that label. And Rochelle found that binder and she decided to take a chance and leave that label and be my manager, so thank you.”
I see Rochelle and Monet’s team as her pollinators. They saw her dream and took action to support it. They saw her potential and said, “I can help her achieve that.”
Now thank back to your Grammy moment. Do you have pollinators for that dream or bigger dreams in your life?
When you think about the skills you need to harness to achieve those big dreams, do you have the right people or influences in your life to help challenge you to grow and achieve that? Do you consume content that helps you learn about your industry or skills on a consistent basis? Or do you need to seek out additional mentors, thought leaders, and support systems that can get you there?
One thing I really like about about the concept of pollinators is that it doesn’t just have to be a 1:1 mentor mentee relationship that we are all used to. You can create a whole “pollination stack” that helps you learn, balance, and grow as you pursue your dreams.
This year I started writing these explorations on "With Intention” (formerly Connective Threads), and one of the biggest reasons was feeling inspired by people who I admire in the health and self-developments spaces. If I take a step back right now, for my With Intention work, my biggest pollinators are Jay Shetty, Andrew Huberman, Mel Robbins, Mo Gawdat, Chris Williamson, and Deepak Chopra. I have only met 2 of these people in person, but each of them has made such an impact on the way that I have developed my understanding and passion behind not only health and self-development, but also on conveying my personal ideas. I had never written my own thought pieces or produced content in these spaces, but after feeling like these people had made such an impact on my life, I looked to them for how I could share my learnings and ideas with my peers.
Let’s take a moment for a small writing exercise: Who are you pollinators?
Take a second and write them down. Better yet, start a notes app in your phone so you always have this information with you and can update it as you engage with new people that inspire you to achieve your dreams.
This list should be an evolving list as you continue to meet people and grow in your life. Pollinators play a very important role in the way that we grow and develop as they provide us with new information, new opportunities, and also guidance and experiences, as they have often seen and conquered challenges that we have never had to endure yet.
Pumpkins - Actualized Goals
You are finally seeing the fruits of your labor: You got clear on your goal, you planted that seed in the proper environment, you watered and nurtured it, saw the sprouts, and found those pollinators. Now the pumpkin has come to fruition.
You are finally achieving those goals whether it be making it to the gym 5 days a week, playing your first song on the piano, or maybe you’ve created the business of your dreams. Each of these are all now examples to yourself and others of how prosperous you can be when you set your intention and do the hard work to accomplish those dreams.
The next step is what do you do with that pumpkin. You have cultivated so many skill in the development process from time management, nurturing, skill-development, and you now feel capable of achieving more. Maybe you make a pumpkin pie, maybe you carve the pumpkin, maybe you take those seed and plant a whole pumpkin patch.
That is the same analogy for your dreams. If you finally started that dream business, what else can you do now? Maybe you pick up a new hobby, mentor another person aiming to become a founder, find a way to give back to your local community, or even start another business. With every goal we can accomplish for ourselves, we are able to set the bar higher and push ourselves to build a continuoulsy developing beautiful and fulfilling life that we may not even be able to think about yet.
Conclusion
It may have taken Victoria Monet 15 years to achieve her Grammy moment, but that doesn’t mean it takes that long for everyone. In order to get a pumpkin, you only need 6 months from the time you plant the seed, in order to get back into shape maybe you only need 1 year, if you are writing for first book, maybe you can do it in 3 years. Your goals and dreams will cary in size, but what is important is knowing that seed, fostering an environment for growth, and sticking to it until you achieve everything you set your mind to.
As we look to the next 6 months, take a moment to get clear on what you want out of life and what you want to achieve by October. Take inventory of your life - are you in the right environment, do you have the right nutrients, do you have the right pollinators around you? Once we start to move with intention towards these goals, you will begin to sprout. They will they will feel tangible, become achievable, and you will see just how much more you are also capable of.
I look forward to checking back in with each of you in October to hear how those seeds have grown.
Thank you for joining me on this week’s exploration.
With intention,
Brian