Week 3: The Million Dollar Challenge
A seed of a million-dollar idea.
You know what is truly remarkable?
You only need one viable seed of an idea to make a million dollars.
I have been thinking about seeds a lot lately as the last spring frost date approaches.
This year I will be starting my first EVER garden in containers on the deck.
Over the last month, I’ve been spending my weekends collecting seeds of plants I want to grow. Every time a packet of seeds arrives in the mailbox, I am filled with absolute joy and childlike wonder.
I hold the seeds in my hand and think, “This tiny delicate seed is going to be lettuce, a watermelon, strawberries, flowers someday!” All I have to do is give it the right growing conditions, water it, provide proper sun exposure and tend to it over time to ensure its successful growth. Until one day, I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor! (fingers crossed) 🤞
Gardening is so much like entrepreneurship. We spend our days growing and tending seeds that we have planted, hoping for a bountiful harvest. It takes the right environment, time, and the patience of a farmer/gardener to be a successful entrepreneur, especially when we want to reap a million dollars.
So where do we begin?
Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes. - Napoleon Hill
Ideas Are The Beginning Points Of All Fortunes.
No fortune can be acquired without a seed of an idea.
Ideas are how fortunes are made.
Think about it, your cell phone, your favorite book, your car.
Coca Cola, Ford, Uber, Netflix.
All started out as a tiny seed of an idea that someone with a great deal of imagination and vision planted. Then they kept tending to it until it grew into what it is today.
What Million Dollar Idea Do You Want to Grow?
For years, I worked as an employee and freelancer. Tending someone else’s seedlings, growing their ideas, businesses, TV series, products, etc.
Some I didn’t believe in, others were alright. But like a hired farm hand, I helped out, did the hard work and was rewarded with a small portion of the harvest.
As time wore on, I grew worn out putting all my energy into someone else’s garden. One day I looked around and realized, I didn’t like what I was planting. I didn’t like radishes, beets, cantaloupe and weeds, but here I was growing them!
Then I asked myself a striking question, why the hell am I spending my precious time on this Earth growing things I don’t even like ?
This was the day, unbeknownst me, that I decided I wanted to be an entrepreneur.
I always knew I was destined to be an entrepreneur and a gardener.
- Whitney Anne Ellis
I knew deep in my soul that it was time to start growing my own metaphorical and literal garden. Simultaneously. I began to think about what I wanted to grow in the way of a business and what I wanted to grow in my actual garden.
I knew I wanted to grow things ❤️I LOVED❤️ and that brought me PURE JOY!
I also knew I wanted to be proud of MY garden, and what it represented.
So I began the back breaking task of ripping out every damn thing that I had planted in the ground for the last 20 years. Every plant I thought I had to grow out of necessity.
Bye radishes! See ya wouldn’t want to be ya.
Bye, TV producing career.
Bye beets.
Bye being an employee.
Bye weeds, I am making room for all of my favorite things and I can’t have you here.
Bye big heavy stone, hidden under the soil, keeping my plants from expansion.
Bye limiting beliefs! It’s time to grow to thrive instead of just survive.
What do you need to say goodbye to?
What do you want to grow?
The choice is yours.
If you are an employee who enjoys your job, that is fabulous! Maybe you like the company you work for and what they put out into the World. Even better. But you’d still like to grow a million dollars in one year.
I’d say unless you foresee, a healthy, ethical investment in your future that’ll pay you high returns in 365 day period, it’s going to be a little more challenging.
See the thing is your employer is the farmer/gardener who took the risk, planted the seed of a viable idea that they grew into a business, and whose plants produce the harvest that go toward your paycheck. The farmer/gardener i.e. CEO is in control of distributing the harvest not you, see what I mean?
That doesn’t mean there aren’t options for you. There are things like employee ownership or employee stock options. That’s how some people get rich!
Or you can plant seeds from your paycheck into investments that will grow for you eventually, maybe not in a year, but with time, you might blow your financial mind watching your investments blossom.
The other option is to take a calculated risk with no guarantees, a whole lotta faith and become an entrepreneur who grows their own business. It’s not going to be easy, but your chances of making a million bucks improves drastically.
88% of millionaires are entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. But if you want to cultivate your own garden with the seeds you select, and are willing to do the work, then it might be the right choice for you. It will be challenging, I can promise you that. There will be storms, obstacles, pests, but if you commit and persist, anything is possible.
For me, I knew I didn’t want to spend the rest of my days watching someone else rack in a bounty earned off of my sweat, tears and years.
So I started to envision what my dream garden and business could look like. I listened to my intuition, considered my why and made some choices.
I also did something that everyone should do before taking on a new venture or planting a seed they have never planted before.
I RESEARCHED!
I acquired knowledge from experts who had succeeded in the task I wanted to win at, both in the arena of entrepreneurship and gardening.
Then I decided my next course of action.
For my container garden, I decided I wanted to grow 6 easy-to-grow veggies I enjoy. Along with Zinnias, Marigolds, Sweet Alyssum and Cosmos. I also knew I wanted to make a tea section filled with chamomile, lemon balm, calendula and spearmint.
As for my business, I decided I wanted to build my money life coaching business through one-on-one coaching, course creation, and affirmation decks; each going into their own containers but all working toward the same purpose.
What container will you plant your million-dollar idea in?
Going back to last weeks post on Creating a Million Dollar Strategy it’s important to know not only what you want to plant but ways to ensure a winning outcome.
Deciding what container(s) or arena you’ll grow a million dollars in is a good starting place. It’s also crucial to give your ideas the right environment to thrive.
I’ve learned that some plants grow best in the cooler seasons, others like the summer heat. Some thrive in partial shade, others need full sun. Some prefer rich soil, others can grow in a crap heap. It all depends on what you are planting.
Recently, I watched an amateur gardener who hadn’t done their research, plant tomato seeds in sandy, infertile soil in the month of February in a Zone 7. I am new to gardening, but I do know the chance of those tomato seeds turning into a magnificent tomato plant are pretty darn slim.
No matter how eager I am to plant tomato seeds in winter, I don’t. Because I want to give my seeds a winning chance to become something amazing!
Give your ideas a chance to thrive by choosing the right environment to germinate.
Once you plant your ideas, there will be a period of germination, when you feel like NOTHING IS HAPPENING. Days, weeks, maybe months will go by with 0 activity visible above the surface. And you may grow impatient, graspy and desperate.
Refreshing google analytics every 5 minutes. Wondering why you haven’t made a sale. Bugging strangers in their DMS begging them to pay attention to you and what you have to offer. You may start circling the pile of dirt where you planted the seeds, exclaiming “This isn’t working!” “Why did I even bother?” “I’ve failed already!”
Be patient grasshopper. Give it time. Remember you’ll need the patience of a farmer to make a million dollars.
Every seed has a different germination period. Some take two weeks others several months, or years. But know roots are forming below the surface during this germination period. The stronger the root systems, the higher probability what you planted will survive and thrive. Give your ideas a fighting chance!
Working to grow a million dollars, grow a business, change your life, takes time. There is no way around it. Give yourself grace, and for God’s sake don’t give up.
Eventually little shots will start popping up above the dirt and you’ll be so d*amn proud of yourself, when they do. 🌱The wait will be worth it! 🌱You’ll feel reinvigorated to keep going and tending what you are growing as you witness small signs of progress.
Storms will come, pests will try to eat what you are growing, you’ll mess up or miscalculate something. Keep going. Learn. Grow. Adjust. Persist. There will be tiny and big rewards along the way, as long as you don’t give up. Keep visualizing yourself enjoying the harvest, and before you know it, it will come true.
Working to grow a million dollars, grow a business, change your life, takes time. There is no way around it. Give yourself grace, and for God’s sake don’t give up. - Whitney Anne Ellis
Now I like to keep it real around here…
Not all ideas will be viable seeds.
If this happens to you, if you plant a million-dollar idea or packet of pepper plants, and the seeds don’t germinate. You may have to start again. Or plant something different.
Do yourself a solid, be fairly certain that what you planted is not just going through a dormancy period, or needs more time to germinate, before you consider it dead.
I’ll admit I’ve killed off ideas too early. I’ve tossed plants in the trash that I didn’t know were going through a dormancy period. They looked dead, but in reality they needed a dark, quiet, cooling off period before they could grow and blossom.
If your idea is not viable, remember this: Learn. Grow. Adjust. Persist.
No matter where you are at on your journey toward a million dollars in a year. I hope you’ll plant seeds that YOU LOVE, that bring you joy. That whatever you grow, you will feel incredibly proud of. I can’t promise you that your million dollar idea will be ready to harvest in one year’s times. But I do know that all it takes is one viable seed of an idea to make a million dollars. The sooner you start planting your ideas, the sooner you can enjoy the harvest, and share what you grow with others.
The sooner you start planting your ideas, the sooner you can enjoy the harvest, and share what you grow with others.
If you’d like to join the One Million Dollar Challenge please feel free to write your intention in the comments below with the hashtag #onemilliondollarchallenge. I also encourage you to read my first blog post to get started. :)
Xo Whitney Anne Ellis
P.S. I am a Money Life Coach, and I can help you. Find out how, here.
Don’t forget sharing is caring. If this post helped you or inspired you please subscribe, comment below, or share with others.
See you next Friday!
//CONNECT//
Website: https://whitneyanneellis.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/whitneyanneellis/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whitneyanneellis
Affirmation decks: https://whitneyanneellis.com/shop/
//DISCLAIMER: All content has been prepared for informational, entertainment, and educational purposes only, and is not intended as Financial, Legal, or Tax Advice. Seek a professional, if you need it.
© Copyright Whitney Anne Ellis