So, work continues in my yard. My question today is, why do roses have thorns? This is a question I want to ask you. Roses look great and all, yet while trimming the thorns on our rose bushes today made me realize that it can be dangerous. My wife had to wear gloves, and I learned very quickly why you need to wear gloves while trimming rose bushes. My guess is that the thorns are there to protect the roses from the other harm around them. Maybe… I don’t know.
Roses are absolutely beautiful. Let’s talk about this for a second. We love the rose bushes in our backyard. They look beautiful in the summer. They continue to get bigger and bigger, too which is neat to watch. The thorns, though. Man, if you get up close to those and accidentally touch them, they hurt.
Let’s think about what roses and thorns have in common with our lives. You and I both know that we protect certain things, but in order to protect them, we have to put a guard around them. What do you protect? Probably, you have an alarm on your home. Ok, well maybe not. You probably lock your doors, though. That’s offering some protection to your home. When you leave your car some place, you lock your car. That’s a form of protection.
These are just simple things that we do to protect the things we like, the things we want to keep. It’s the same way with roses’ thorns. They’ve been on the bushes for years and years. Man, ouch! If I wasn’t holding my phone to record this message, I would show you. But the thorns are there for a reason.
What things do you need to protect around you? Take a roster of everything in your life. What/who do you need to guard? Which business relationships, personal relationships, etc.? We all need to protect our lives and certain things/people in it. What thorns do we need to put up around them to keep them from being attacked? Also, what things do we need to protect in terms of our thoughts and actions?
Where do you need to put some “thorns” in place as a form of protection to make sure no damage gets inside? As you can see by answering these questions, we all have much to protect, no matter what. If you’re a manager, think about your roles. One of them is to protect your people, which are the roses. That is one role that you play as a manager. You protect your people, keep them, and allow them to flourish. At the end of the day, I think the thorns are what allows and actually encourages the roses to blossom.
Don’t get rid of the thorns, because they’re there for a reason. They are there to protect you and help you grow. So, who are you a thorn to? I’m not talking about being a needle to them, but to protect and help them thrive. On the other side, who is the thorn in your life to protect and help get you to the next level?
Copyright 2020, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.
