🌳 The Story of Planting an Oak

It begins with something small. An acorn, freshly fallen, lying in the grass beneath a great oak. Most people walk past without noticing. But in that tiny shell is the memory of centuries and the possibility of a future you may never see.

You pick it up. It feels smooth, solid, alive. If you choose to, you can give it a chance to grow.

First, you let it rest, because even an acorn needs winter. In the cool dark of the fridge, wrapped in sand or soil, it dreams of spring. Weeks pass quietly, until the first white root breaks free. That’s the sign of life waiting.

You place it in deep soil, only a few centimetres under, and water it gently. The root goes down before the shoot goes up. The little green stem appears. It doesn’t look much yet, but it carries a promise.

For a year or two, you care for it in its pot, protecting it from squirrels, frost, and careless feet. Then, one day, it’s strong enough to take its place in the earth. You choose a spot where it has space to stretch, where light falls freely, where it can breathe. You plant it there, firm and upright, and trust the seasons to do the rest.

You may never sit in its shade or see the full spread of its branches. But perhaps your children will. Or their children. An oak is not grown for you alone. It is a gift forward.

From a small act today, a forest tomorrow. From one acorn, a living legacy.

In 1996, Sir John Whitmore placed an acorn in my hand during his Coaching for Performance weekend. It was the moment of my own epiphany, a realisation that within each of us lies the seed of something magnificent, waiting to grow. It simply needs to be unlocked and nurtured.

“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them… we are more like an acorn which contains within it all the potential to be a magnificent oak tree. We need nourishment, encouragement and the light to reach toward, as the oak-tree is already within us.” Sir John Whitmore, Coaching for Performance

And so, each acorn I plant carries that lesson forward: the oak is already within.

“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” Greek Proverb

🌱 Your Acorn, Your Legacy

Every oak begins with a single act of planting. The same is true of leadership.

You already carry the seed of something magnificent, waiting to be unlocked and nurtured. The question is not whether it is there… but whether you will give it the space, the light, and the time to grow.

👉 How will you unlock and nurture the acorn within you so it becomes your legacy?

Your Call ..