Les Brown: Nothing Is Showing Yet? Keep Watering Your Tree

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Video by Les Brown, from his official YouTube channel, [@LesBrownSpeaks](https://www.youtube.com/@LesBrownSpeaks). I'm not affiliated with him. I just love this message.

What do you do when you've been working on something and nothing is showing yet? In this short video, Les Brown says it plainly: some people stop because they don't see instant results. Don't stop. Keep watering your tree. As he puts it in the video's description, "What you become in the process is more important than the dream."

It's just over two minutes long. Watch it first, then come back.

The idea in plain words

People will look at you working on your dream and ask, "This is all you've got to show?" That question stings. It stings even more when you're asking it yourself.

Les Brown's answer is to keep watering. You don't dig up a seed every morning to check if it's growing. You water it, you protect it, and you trust the work you can't see yet.

And he adds something I think a lot of us miss. The point isn't only the result at the end. It's the character you build, the courage you develop and the faith you put into practice along the way.

Why this matters if you're building something online

Building anything online is mostly watering with nothing showing. You set up a page. You write a post. You make a video. You send an email to a small list. And for a while, it can feel like nobody is watching.

That's the stretch where most people quit. Not because the idea was bad, but because the quiet got loud.

Here's how I think about it for beginners, especially those of us over 50:

• Small and steady beats big and rare. One post, one video or one email a week, done every week, is watering.
• Own what you build. Your list, your page and your blog keep growing even when a program changes. I learned that one the hard way when a company I built around for over ten years shut down and I lost my whole contact list. Starting over is its own kind of watering, which I wrote about in what I did after losing half my 401k.
• Judge the habit, not the harvest. Ask "Did I show up this week?" before you ask "What did I get?"
• Age isn't the deadline. If you're just starting later in life, my guide to affiliate marketing for beginners over 50 walks through where to begin without the hype.

None of this promises results. Plenty of people keep watering and still don't get the outcome they hoped for. But nobody gets anywhere by digging up the seed every morning.

One small action step for this week

Pick one thing you're watering right now. A blog, a YouTube channel, an email list, a side project, a skill.

Then choose one small, repeatable action for it, and do it on the same day each week. Write it on a card or a sticky note: "Every ___day, I will ___." Put it where you'll see it.

At the end of the week, don't count the results. Count whether you watered.

Quick questions

What is the main message of Les Brown's "Keep Watering" video?

That some people stop because they don't see instant results, and you shouldn't. Keep working on your dream, because what you become in the process, your character, courage and faith, matters more than the dream itself.

Where can I watch the full video?

It's a YouTube Short on Les Brown's official channel, @LesBrownSpeaks. The link is at the top of this post.

What is Motivation Sunday?

It's a weekly post on this blog. Every Sunday I share a short video from a speaker I respect, from their official channel, and what the message means for anyone building something online.

Your turn

Les Brown ends with a question, so I'll borrow it: what are you still watering? Tell me in the comments. I read every one.

Results vary. Your results depend on your own effort, skills and situation, and many people earn nothing.