Spring Forward

It's finally Spring. Although this week in New Jersey, it dropped to 30 degrees. Twice.

While driving earlier this week, I saw the Cherry Blossoms and the early buds from the Lilac trees - my favorite - and it make me think...

Spring is the only season on the calendar where growth is non-negotiable.

Nothing in nature debates it.
Nothing waits to feel ready.
Nothing holds onto what no longer works.

Flowers bud.
Trees bloom.
Grass turns green.

Growth even through the 30-degree day delays.

Spring is a mirror. It's a mirror for each one of us.

While everything around you is expanding—are you?

Early in my career, working with Martha Stewart—not at the peak, but on the way up, just after she bought back her brand from Time Inc.—she did something that I thought was silly [I may have said stupid at the time].

She wanted the business to go big. Not incrementally. Exponentially.

She pushed HARD for results as you might imagine, but she also designed for growth.

She saw the company the same way she looked at her homes, her land, and her gardens.

Everything alive.
Everything connected.
Everything expected to grow—together.

So each division was assigned a tree, a different species of tree. No kidding. Each department was given a tree name.

Martha named herself the Oak Tree for its strength and resilience. There was some talk of her being the Birch Tree because of what it closely sounded like...but I digress.

If one tree didn’t grow, it affected the whole ecosystem that was now called Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.

Growth wasn’t optional. Excellence was expected in this season and every season going forward. She was clear: Growth has a cost.

More pressure.
More expectation.

Most people say they want growth but resist what growth requires.

That’s where the parallel to Spring is — and where high performers separate themselves. The ones who actually grow are the ones who understand that pressure isn’t the problem, it’s the pathway. It’s what transforms potential into results, if you’re willing to meet it.

Nature doesn’t hesitate.

It doesn’t question the conditions.
It doesn’t wait for certainty.
It doesn’t cling to what no longer fits.

It just grows.

But most of us do the opposite.

We wait.
We overthink.
We hold on.

We say we want more but keep operating from what’s familiar. So while everything around you is expanding, you stay the same.

Even when you know that pruning is what accelerates growth, you hold on.

That’s the real risk. Not that growth isn’t happening. But that it’s happening without you.

Where are you still waiting…in a season that’s already moving?

Growth comes with your willingness to meet it.

You are the biggest influencer in your life, and when you recognize and take action from your own influence, it's a game-changer.

Have fun this Spring. With the longer days, brighter surroundings and blooming beauties, why not bloom yourself?

What if?

Why not?

Answer those questions until you get to 'I must'.

Be your own muse this Spring.