The florist with a fount of inspiration
By: Kalyani Srinivasan
Tags: Success Story, Bouquet Delivery, Perseverance, Life Lessons, Florist

Ruminated me, there could be nothing more epic than this damsel for an inspiration! Her path to success in life was a grand parable of simplicity by any yardstick.

I went on to ink my thoughts thus,

Linda strung together flowers with flawless dexterity as much as she strung together words with her sweet voice to sell them.

“Roses do not bloom hurriedly; for beauty, like any masterpiece, takes time to blossom.”

― Matshona Dhliwayo

Her flower basket was filled with an assortment of fragrant flowers in multi hues.

She was a lanky young lady with an ever cheerful smile and was hyperactive in her outlook.

Some ruby red, some mellow yellow, some pristine white and some radiant pink. It wouldn’t be a hyperbole to name her basket a mini floral garden in full bloom with its heady whiff of fragrance wafting the air. Her voice was unmissable and her basket elevated our visual notches higher. One couldn’t help purchasing a bouquet or two.

She went door to door selling flowers, garlands and bouquets in addition to owning a small boutique of her own.

She was fondly called ‘Lin’ by her dear customers.

Blame it on her yanking destiny, her husband had deserted her within 2 years of her wedlock. But this didn’t deter her to drift away from the path of life.

She was blessed with a daughter, whom she had to fend for albeit being a single mom.

One single glance at her daughter and she realized the depth of her challenging circumstances.

The same glance changed her approach towards life for good. Linda wasn’t qualified beyond class 9.

She set out to work as a domestic help, leaving her daughter Lydia, under the care of her mom.

Thanks to her burst of energy, her hard work earned her a great name at all her workplaces. Her mistresses valued her perseverance and were kind enough to provide her with daily meals. They also took care of her monthly provisions. This enabled her to begin the task of saving money.

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

— Thomas Edison

She utilized her spare time in the noon for buying flowers from the wholesale market, made colorful bouquets and sold them. This meant an additional earning for her livelihood.

“Once you understand life is a game of momentum, you’ll understand how to be successful”. — Ayodeji Awosika https://medium.com/mind-cafe/the-7-habits-of-highly-ineffective-people-44b0ff317be

Her daughter Lydia was the apple of her eyes and the main reason for her persistent hard work. Linda sought admission in a decent school for Lydia. She encouraged Lydia in all her endeavors and supported her in all aspects of learning.

She taught her lessons in the evenings.

Linda’s selling tactics fetched her laurels apart from inflating her income!

She adhered to punctuality at her workplace and also while selling flower bouquets door to door. Even the clock might sometimes get erratic, but Linda was famous for her precision of time.

Her flowers were fresh and fragrant, as if procured from a floral orchard. The variety in flowers accompanied by her selling acumen augmented her sales in leaps and bounds. She spoke with eloquence yet convincingly, that there wasn’t a need felt for the rigors of haggling.

Her mini floral business flourished well with the passage of time.

Temples, Commercial houses and households boasted of Linda’s floral delight and her zeal for them. Such was her signature flowers! Every entrance of famous buildings resounded with the name of Lin and her floral designs, with her flowers occupying a majestic shelf.

Festivities cheered her up enormously, considering the swell in her sales and the customer base.

She draped saris and wore dresses gifted by her mistresses and never craved for flashy things in life. She embraced life in all its simplicity!

She always maintained a piggy bank to collect her savings. At the end of every month she checked it, only to find it heaping!

Her hard work paid off for she was wedded to commitment.

One kind mistress, helped Linda, open a savings bank account in a reputed bank. She was caught up in a newfound euphoria to mobilize her hard-earned savings. Tears of joy welled from her cheeks. From utter poverty to a fair level of prosperity in her livelihood, the transition was a most welcome feature. Her unbridled determination, dedication and sacrifices mounted her in a pedestal now.

Although she accomplished what she desired, she never once chased money!

As years rolled by, Lydia realized her mom’s predicaments in her endeavors, and studied well to emerge out of college with distinction.|

Lydia is now placed in an Multi national company as a trainee for a handsome emolument.

Quipped she proudly to her mom, “You struggled very hard in bringing me up to settle me down, now its time for you to rest and taste the joys of leisure, mom”.

But the hyperactive mom didn’t budge, she went on to engage herself in petty jobs that perked up her life.

Outside my doorstep was a strong inspiration for me in the form of Linda who ascended each rung of the ladder in her life steadily yet successfully.

Behind her radiant smiles were camouflaged her poor background, which she never allowed to impede all through her quest for life.

Her recipe to success was simplicity, honesty, punctuated by unrelenting focus.