There's a common saying:

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."

No one knows the origin of the proverb, but it remains relevant because the wisdom stands the test of time. For many of us, life decisions, big or small, are approached with a "wait for the ideal moment" mindset. That can look like saying, whether consciously or subconsciously, "I'll start that when ______." But what if there is no "ideal" moment?

Here's the reality: most things worth doing require hard work, sacrifice, and time. And the most difficult part of doing hard things is simply getting started. Anyone who's ever tried to start an exercise routine knows exactly what I mean. Until a habit forms, just getting yourself to start takes a kind of discipline that goes against our pain-avoiding instincts.

That's why it's so much easier to research and plan. The plan isn't the hard part, executing on it is. That's not to say making a plan is bad. Starting something doesn't mean recklessness. You wouldn't plant a tropical palm tree in Illinois. That's just foolish. We should aim for the mature tree, with wisdom and intention. No one wants to plant seeds forever and grow saplings that never amount to anything. The real problem is that we want the mature tree today. We want immediate results, and if we can't have that, we start to wonder why we should bother planting at all.

But that's not how trees work. You don't plant a mature tree. You plant a seed, and you tend to it.

This summer, my daughters had a lemonade stand on their bucket list. Summer was flying by, and I didn't want it to slip away without checking that off. When the idea of a flower stand came up instead, the girls got excited, so we pivoted.

We didn't have a roadmap for selling flowers. But here's what we did have: zinnias growing in our backyard, some scrap wood, and four cute girls (I'm biased) ready to give it a shot. The girls painted a sign, I built an unimpressive stand out of scrap wood, and we started cutting and wrapping flowers. My wife and I had no idea what it would look like, but we knew we wanted to plant the "tree" of our girls learning the value of hard work.

It wasn't the prettiest stand, it was disorganized and chaotic at times (as with anything with young kids), and we made less than $30. But we saw some early fruit anyway:

• The girls learned the hard work it takes to achieve a goal

• We spent meaningful time working toward something together as a family

• And best of all, next summer Four Sisters Flower Co. has a foundation to build on instead of starting from nothing

So here's a question to ask yourself: what's the "tree" you've been meaning to plant? In life? In relationships? With your finances?

Maybe you already know what it is. It's been sitting there, half-formed, waiting for the "right time." The wisdom here isn't complicated: don't wait for certainty you may never get. Don't wait until you have it all figured out. Take the small, imperfect step now, tend to it and let it grow. That's true whether we're talking about relationships, career, or of course, your finances.

Someday, we will all look back on this season of life. Instead of looking back and saying, "Look at all the trees I wish I'd planted," we'd all rather say, "I'm so glad I planted that tree."

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Jordan Richert, CPA