Learn A Successful Entrepreneur’s Secret To A Completely Intentional Day

Cody Faller is a highly successful entrepreneur in the real estate note business in Tucson, Arizona, a niche business that involves real estate and mortgages. He’s also a passionate daily gardener who has done a lot of thinking about the parallels between tending and nurturing a garden and success in business and life.

For him, that success starts with being intentional in everything he does.

A natural-born entrepreneur looks for success habits in nature.

Very early on in life, Cody naturally gravitated to the entrepreneurial life; he always knew he was capable of building a business. From collecting cans around the house for the deposit and clipping coupons, to recycling pounds of aluminum for a profit, he liked the idea of earning and saving money.

During these formative years, Cody also had a passion for planting grass and flowers, and seeing the growth and fruits of his labor. Still gardening every day today, he sees caring for his garden to encourage growth as as a metaphor for creating the conditions that best foster growth in his own life, both at home and in his business.

“Priming” for a purposeful, intentional day.

Every morning, in the silence of his garden, Cody practices his own form of meditation. As he takes care of his garden, his aim, as in meditation, is to calm his mind. He does allow thought—but only if it’s focused thinking that ensures his entire day ahead is intentional.

Cody calls this setting up of his day “priming,” and the intentionality that has come from it has given his life, both at work and at home with his wife and young children, a sense of purpose and intention that have served him well.

“You experience growth when you place a focus on it and take the time,” he says. “Nothing changes until it’s something that you change every day. That’s really the story here—creating my morning gardening ritual and the focused, intentional thinking I do while I work has created a successful habit that has truly transformed my life.”

To reinforce the kind of transformative habits Cody Faller has built into his life, get access to his coach Dan Sullivan’s book The Gap And The Gain. It introduces a way of measuring progress that’s a game changer for ambitious entrepreneurs.

10 Ways That Gardening Can Change Your Life

Here are Cody Faller’s 10 success habits that he’s cultivated during his daily time in his garden:

1. Make it a ritual. At the same time and same place every day, Cody tames and tidies his garden as he tames and tidies his “unruly mind,” creating space for thinking with intent. “The brain has to be clear, and it has to be reminded over and over to get behind any habit you want to strengthen.”
2. Meditate and prime. In the quiet of his garden, Cody practices meditation’s breathing aspect, which he likens to our carbon dioxide/oxygen relationship with plants. He focuses on what he wants to get done that day and visualizes accomplishing that. “For me, it’s important that I get clarity so I can be intentional about my day.”
3. Get into a daily habit. Gardening fosters a habit of doing a little every day rather than going full force some day. It’s the same in life. “Consistency and longevity don’t happen without daily attention. The change and resulting growth you’re looking for happen only when you make a change in something you do and then do that daily with purpose and intention.”
4. Accept failure and loss. Every gardener knows that some things work, and some things don’t work. Cody is reminded that in business, he needs to be persistent, consistent, and resilient—and to put extra focus on his strengths. “Learn from what didn’t work, let it go, and appreciate and focus on what’s thriving.”
5. See downtime as normal. No matter where you live, there is a growing season, long or short, and a season where things contract, where not much is happening. “I think that’s a great way to think about your life and business—where you are in its life cycle. I’ve learned to see the cycle as a normal part of business, a normal part of life.”
6. Pay attention. In the garden, Cody pays attention to small details and engages all his senses, strengthening his ability to focus and appreciate the moment in life and in his business. It’s led to breakthroughs from seeing things he couldn’t see before. “To have the ability to pay attention, have a focus, and avoid distraction is probably one of the best skill sets you can have in the world today.”
7. Be patient. Cody is reminded of patience and the need to enjoy the journey when he’s in his garden. “I want everything to grow faster, especially in business. Patience is another area of daily practice, a muscle that needs to be strengthened, and the more you practice it, the better you get at it.”
8. Get clarity. Being alone in the silence of the garden brings him clarity. “It’s where I ask all those important questions, where I determine not what I need in life, but what I want and why. This is where I also take total responsibility for every condition in my life.”
9. Be your best. In every garden, plants may not always be the very best version of themselves, a natural part of the growing cycle. “What I always strive for is to be more of who I am when I’m at my best. That’s a goal that’s going to be reflected in my business and in my life at home with my wife and kids.”
10. Reach your full potential. Human beings are the only form of life that doesn’t strive to be all they can be. Trees, for example, grow as tall as they possibly can, which inspires Cody to focus on developing his full potential each day. “Whether you’re reading or listening to a book, or listening to a podcast, or however you like to learn, it’s really important to invest that time in yourself.”

Just as his morning ritual in his garden is a healthy habit that Cody believes contributes to his success, he believes that the habit of coming to Strategic Coach every quarter gives him the accountability and structure he needs. He sees Coach as his success partner setting him up for bigger thinking and growth.

Cody’s coach, Dan Sullivan, believes that every entrepreneur has the unique chance every day to take their game to a higher level of opportunity and improvement. Like Cody, why not make every day count by creating the successful habits that make continual growth inevitable?

Have a further look at the 10 habits that help Cody to be intentional in everything he does in his inspiring article on medium.com.