In business, there are two particular kinds of making money that have different structural approaches – the field vs the orchard as a metaphor.

A field is something that takes a LOT of hard work all through the season, from the plowing of a piece of ground where nothing was to start with, to sowing the seeds, weeding and watering, and harvesting, and processing and all of that.

However, after you’ve put in your season’s work, you have a bunch of produce to sell and you get money, right away.

The downside is that as soon as the harvest is over, you are back to square one next year and you have to do it all over again.

An orchard works differently. Here, you also start with barren ground but you plant trees. They take a long time to grow before they bear fruit, but once they do, you have minimal maintenance and a recurring cash crop, year in, year out.

Most businesses have aspects of both fields and orchards, even though they tend to specialise in one, or the other.

Today’s exercise is to have a look around at your business activities, and to be clear which one is an orchard, and which one is a field. They need different approaches to help them to thrive and make you successful, so just make sure you are quite clear on what you’re doing, so you don’t get them confused.

The MindMillion Energy Exercises created by Silvia Hartmann, exclusive to The Guild of Energists