Imagine a plant in front of you. It's just a little seeding, its stalk barely strong enough to support itself without bend. You unwrap its roots from its burlap binding and gently shake the loose soil away. The roots dangle; stretching, searching, breathing.

This little seedling has unlimited potential. It can grow to be as big as it wants, living for hundreds of years and come to house an entire ecosystem within its lifetime. This one seedling can easily affect, and change the lives of millions.

You want this seedling to grow. You want it to be whatever it wants to be. So you give it water and food, you give it sunlight and the space to spread its roots. You wouldn't ever think to look at this seedling and say, 'I know you're supposed to grow into an Oak, but I just don't think you're capable.' You wouldn't dream of telling it that it's too small, puny, or too insignificant to ever be what it was born to be. That its leaves will never reach beyond the canopy, and its roots would never split the earth... would you?

We carry seedlings like this in our hearts every day. They are our dreams and aspirations and help us reach the heights we were born to achieve. Fear only paralyzes the potential. I have planted so many new opportunities in poison, yet wondered why they never grew.

To water the seedling is to dream with it, not against it.
To feed it, offer kind words. Give it something good to grow on.
Sunshine beckons for opportunities—take action!
And most importantly, pick your soil carefully. Cultivate the ground with skills, experience, and education.

Remember, everything good takes time to grow. Seeing positive changes within your life and yourself are no different. May we all be so fortunate as to grow into our dreams.

-Jamie Homeister