Appreciating the Beauty in Different Types of Flowers (6-18-25)

This will be the last in the series inspired by my wife’s garden. We are going wrap everything up with a final reflection on appreciating the beauty in different types of flowers.

Here are some more close up shots of some of the flowers that my wife is growing in her garden or in a nearby pot. Each of these flowers are beautiful, and all of them are beautiful for different reasons. There are some I love because of their bright colors. There are some I love because of the patterns on their petals. I like marigolds, because they look like a lion that is blooming. Every flower possesses beauty because of its own unique traits. I wouldn’t ever want the space petunias to be just like the marigolds, because that would rob me of a chance to see something uniquely wonderful.

Let’s make some connections. Like the flowers, we are all different. Like the flowers, we are all beautiful humans. Maybe, we are beautiful for our bright and bold energy. Maybe, we are beautiful for soft and thoughtful demeanor. Maybe, we are beautiful because of the unique patterns on our petals that tell a story. Whatever it is, I hope you are proud of the things that make you beautiful.

The challenge: Will you celebrate the beauty within yourself?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

A Finished Garden and What it Took to Get There (5-21-25)

This week we are going to start a series inspired by some work we’ve done around the house. We will start by reflecting on a finished garden and what it took to get there.

The picture on the right is how our garden in the backyard looks. My wife did all of this. Isn’t she awesome? There are walking paths, mosaic stones, flores, a rainbow fence, and other vegetables. Hanging out on my back patio and looking at this makes me so happy.

Here’s the thing though. It didn’t start out looking like that. Now look at the other picture. It started with just a bunch of dirt. To get it to where it is now my wife had to put in a lot of work. She sketched out designs for the garden, purchased the materials, and pulled it all together. It took weeks of working to get to the end result.

Let’s connect dots. Every day we see images of the final beautiful product. It’s easy to become obsessed with this finished product and to lose perspective on everything it took to get there. That success didn’t happen overnight. It was months and years of hard work.

The challenge: How can we appreciate the beauty AND the work it took to get there?

Bonus thought- We can be beautiful AND be works in progress at the same time. Life is just a series of transitions. Much like the plants in my wife’s garden, sometimes we are blooming and sometimes we are growing and working our way through the dirt.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Accomplishment, Flowers, and Appreciating Beauty (5-25-22)

Last week was about garage door motors and designing customer solutions. This week is about accomplishment, flowers, and appreciating beauty.

We have lived in our house for about 10 years. During that time, my wife has spent a significant amount of time and energy planting trees, bushes, and flowers. None of these things necessarily accomplish anything. The flowers don’t provide food. The flowers don’t open garage doors. The flowers are not essential to our house. At the same time, they are valuable. They give us a chance to experience beauty and peace, and that’s worth something. (Pic is from my son planting the flowers to spell “Yay”. Totally not necessary. Totally bring me joy.)

What does this have to do with anything? In a world that is so focused on achievement, it’s easy to get obsessed with only doing things if they accomplish something vs. enjoying something for what it is. We walk, because we need to get in our steps. We read, but mainly read books to help us be better employees. We do things at work, but only because they check boxes so we can move to the next rung of the ladder. I get stuck in these ruts. Do you?

The flowers at my house remind me that sometimes life is just about doing things that help us witness the beauty around us. Life is writing poems, even though those poems are for the sole sake of creating. Life is doing sidewalk chart art because it is cool to make monsters on your driveway. Life is going on a walk just because the weather is nice. Life is reading a book for the joy of being transported to a new world, whether that is a time in history, a magical land, or somewhere beyond. Life is sitting outside on your front porch and just zoning out with friends. When life is crazy busy, the thing that gets me through is pausing to remember that life isn’t always about accomplishment. Sometimes it is about witnessing the everyday wonder hidden in small moments.

The challenge: Will you stop to appreciate the beauty in life?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Flowers, Carbon Dioxide, and Adversity (9-9-20)

This is the last in the series of lessons we can learn about flowers. We started with the need to stop and zoom in to see the flowers. From there, we talked about understand if you need heat or shade to grow, and last week was about transplant shock and taking care of ourselves in difficult times. This week is about flowers, carbon dioxide, and adversity.

If you ever found yourself in a room filled with carbon dioxide it wouldn’t be good for you. Slowly it would begin to poison your systems, because our bodies need oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. However, if we put a flower in a room filled with carbon dioxide it would be good for them. Their cellular system would take that carbon dioxide and mix it with sunlight and water to go through photosynthesis. As a result the flower would grow.

You might be wondering where this is going. It’s interesting that carbon dioxide can have two entirely different impacts, based on the makeup of humans and flowers. For one group carbon dioxide is harmful and for the other group it is helpful. In a similar way, adversity can either be harmful or can lead to growth based on the makeup of the individual and their mindset during the situation.

We all face adversity, but we don’t all respond to adversity the same. Throughout this entire year I have continued to challenge myself to find ways to grow from the obstacles that have come. Sometimes, I can’t find a way to grow. Sometimes, the situation just straight up sucks, and there is no real lesson to take from it. This is okay. Other times, there are challenges I can learn from. These challenges can be great teachers, if I’m willing to approach them with an open mind.

The challenge: What have you learned from some of the challenges you’ve faced this year?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Dealing with Transplant Shock (9-2-20)

Last week was about being intentional about giving “water” to teammates. This week builds off this theme and is about plants and transplant shock. Thanks to a friend for the inspiration. (Side note- My wife came home from the hospital on Monday! She still has a lot of recovering to do, but she’s home. Thanks for the prayers and good vibes.)

A few years ago, my wife moved a rose bush from her parents’ house to our house. The bush lasted for a few months, but eventually it died. I never knew why it died until I learned that often when bushes are moved from one location to another, it doesn’t go very well. The reason is something called transplant shock. “Transplant shock is a term that refers to a number of stresses occurring in recently transplanted trees and shrubs. It involves failure of the plant to root well, consequently the plant becomes poorly established in the landscape. New transplants do not have extensive root systems, and they are frequently stressed by lack of sufficient water. Plants suffering from water stress may be more susceptible to injury from other causes such as the weather, insects, or disease. When several stresses are being experienced, the plant may no longer be able to function properly.” (Transplant Shock of Trees and Shrubs). You can help minimize transplant shock by carefully transporting the roots, watering the plant appropriately, and giving the plant a little extra care and attention.

You might be wondering what this has to do with anything. Two weeks ago, a friend responded to the blog about knowing what you need to grow and said, “This blog post also makes me also think about the stress of a plant being uprooted and replanted. We all got uprooted by COVID, but some of us got replanted more ideally and others less. And even a perfectly healthy thriving plant will still need time to recover.”

I loved the analogy. He’s spot on. COVID changed our entire worlds and we were replanted. Furthermore, we continue to be replanted over and over again as we collide with new normal due to COVID and other circumstances. Maybe we are replanted when more of our routines are disrupted. Maybe we are replanted as our kids start school in an entirely different environment. Maybe we are replanted as we face personal difficulties. In all of these situations, these adjustments are difficult to take, and if we don’t get what we need to recover then we risk being down and out for a long time. Similar to plants, if we want to minimize transplant shock, we need to be careful with ourselves, extend everyone a little extra grace, and show everyone a little extra care and attention.

The challenge: How you are reducing transplant shock for yourself? How are you reducing transplant shock for others?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Being Intentional about Watering Plants (8-26-20)

Last week was about knowing what you need to grow and develop. This week is about being intentional about watering plants and giving love, care, and recognition to people.

My wife has flowers planted everywhere outside of our house. Every day she would spend a few minutes checking on the plants to ensure they were getting enough water. Sometimes the plants were fine, because it had been raining, so they were receiving all the nourishment they needed. Sometimes, the plants were a little dry and she’d water them that night to take care of them. Either way, she always checked in on them to see what they needed. This pattern has been disrupted lately. My wife has been in the hospital for the past 3 weeks with surgery and recovery. With all this going on, I haven’t been doing the best job of checking on the plants, so they aren’t doing as well as they should be doing. Now you could say I’m busy with other things right now, which is true. The other truth is that the plants are starting to not do so well, and I need to take care of them.

Where is this going? Plants need water to grow, and a parallel to this is that people need care, love, and recognition to feel seen. Like plants, people won’t always tell you when they need a little nourishment. It’s up to us to check in on them and give them nourishment. My wife was great about checking on the plants, and I wasn’t, so they began to die. In a similar way, if we don’t check on each other and give what is needed, people become disengaged and start to wither. When it comes to people, I always make the assumption that people need a little extra care, love, and recognition, so I try to give them a little bit of this in every interaction. Assuming they need this is the safest bet, because it guarantees there is no way to lose. If the person is already feeling awesome about themselves and I give them an extra word of encouragement, they gain an extra boost in their step. If the person is having a tough time, then my words of encouragement can be the water they desperately need.

Now you could say it’s difficult to give people the care, love, recognition, and support they need. This is true. You could also say, it’s easy not to do those things because you are so busy. This is also true. The other truth is that if it is your team, you are responsible for helping your team grow. If you don’t give them the support they need, they will wither until you begin taking care of them again.

The challenge: How intentional are you about ensuring your team gets the “water” they need?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Sun, Shade, and What We Need to Grow (8-19-20)

Last week was about stopping to admire the flowers. This week is about sun, shade, and what we need to grow.

Recently my aunt bought some potted plants for my girls to plant at our house. As soon as we received them I asked, “Are these plants that require a lot of sun or a lot of shade?” Both of them happened to be plants to require sun. This simple question was important because of where my house is in the subdivision relative to the sun. We have some plants in areas that have intense heat for most of the day, some plants that get both sun and shade, and other plants that primarily get shade. We need to put the plants in the right spot, so they will get what they need to thrive and grow. If you put a shade plant in a place filled with hot sun it shrivels and vice versa.

Your probably see where this is going. There are two main connections we can make. The first connection is with regards to figuring out what we each individually need. Deep inside plants “know” what they need to thrive and survive. Do you? What does your ideal environment look like? Where do you need to get those things from? I know for me to thrive and grow I need work that is challenging, a chance to make impact, the ability to touch a lot of stuff, folks who are good people that care about each other, and a space where I can be my weird self. (Having the space to be me is important, because weirdness is my natural state of being 😉) When I have those things I grow and when I don’t have those things I either grow more slowly or shrivel a bit. As a result, when I think about what roles to apply for and teams I want to join I look for those things. Throughout my career there have been jobs I’ve decided not to apply for, because I knew I couldn’t get the things I needed. It didn’t make the roles bad, they just weren’t where I was going to grow. Maybe someone else needed those vibes, and that’s okay. The second connection is about building the environment other folks can flourish in. Not everyone is going to be exactly like you. As a leader, do you know what kind of environment your team needs? Are you actively building and monitoring that environment? This is a delicate balance, because there are things that everyone needs and there are also opportunities to add in the small extra touches that impact some individuals more than others.

The challenge: Are you planting yourself in the right spot? How are you building the best environment for the people around you?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Zooming in on Flowers and Our Lives (8-12-20)

This week I want to kick off a series inspired by plants. We’ll start by reflecting on zooming in on flowers and our lives.

It started as a joke. One day I came home from a run and noticed the flowers my wife had planted. I got close to them, pulled out my iphone, zoomed in as close as I could, and did my best to take an overly artistic photo. I thought it would be funny, because I don’t have photography skills. Then, I looked at the picture. It’s not that I had great skills, but there was something about zooming in and seeing a flower for the first time like that. It made me pause and appreciate how beautiful it was. Since then, from time to time I like to take zoomed in pictures of flowers to see what I can capture. Check out the picture above and tell me that isn’t amazing.

You might be wondering where this is going. My wife has planted flowers for years, and I never fully appreciated them until I stopped one day to admire their beauty. Since then, I’ve seen flowers in an entirely different light. In a similar way, all too often we are in too much of a rush to realize the beauty in our life that surrounds us. However, if we are lucky enough to pause from time to time and examine our lives, we often can find something hidden away. We can find something small, beautiful, and powerful if we are willing to zoom in and look a little closer. Once you see that one piece of beauty in your life, you’ll continue to find more and more beauty around you.

The challenge: Are you taking the time to slow down and zoom in on the life you are living?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Growth, Development, and Photosynthesis (9-28-16)

Last week we looked at butterflies, so this week let’s look at flowers, growth, and photosynthesis. Someone call Justin Timberlake, because I’m bringing sexy back. Wait. Did I say sexy? I meant nerdy. Definitely meant nerdy. Get ready for some bodacious botany and funky flowers.

A flower doesn’t blossom by luck. In order for a flower to blossom and grow it must undergo photosynthesis. For photosynthesis to happen flowers need things like soil, water, carbon dioxide, and of course sunlight, which is the catalyst for the reaction. During photosynthesis, the flower takes in sunlight, which starts a reaction that results in the flower producing sugar that becomes energy to feed its transformation. Essentially, the flower absorbs the things from its surroundings in order to go through an INTERNAL process to change. The flower can only develop and grow if it goes through this INTERNAL process.

What does photosynthesis have to do with our development? Think about how we develop ourselves. We can learn things from our day to day work and we can also do external things like read books, view TED talks, take courses, attend leadership conferences, etc. If you think of the flower metaphor these developmental opportunities are like water, soil, and carbon dioxide. They give us the potential to develop, but they do NOT guarantee growth. In order to grow we need sunlight to go through our own photosynthesis. I’d argue that our sunlight is time and our photosynthesis is reflection. We need to be deliberate to set aside dedicated time to really reflect on what we have experienced, so we can go through our own INTERNAL process and transform everything we have soaked up into energy to power our growth.

Every day we are exposed to the key components that could lead to tremendous growth. In a world that is extremely busy, it’s too easy to miss these chances. It’s too easy to rely on something external to make us grow. The fact is that growth comes inside from all of us.

The challenge: Are you taking the time to go through your own version of photosynthesis so you can grow?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry