Lisa … now there’s a woman who knows how to choose!

. In this post I am going to tell you a story about my friend Lisa. You can see her in the photo showing off her most remarkable veggie garden. I kid you not, this garden is made up of over 50 recycling bins! For me this veggie garden is indeed remarkable because it represents Lisa; a woman who defied all odds and in the end got everything she desired.

My friend Lisa and her amazing city veggie garden.

How?
Well she knew exactly what it meant to choose, to really choose.  

I have known Lisa for years and when I first met her on our Life Leverage program there was no sign of vegetables anywhere in this business woman’s life.
She was busy like the rest of us, focused on making her business work. She also had big dreams to have a house near the sea.
Over the years I heard her passionate pleas for zero waste in this world and she was definitely championing better care for the environment.
It took a while for me to change my perception of her and it finally dawned on me that I had a serious greeny in my midst.
Besides loving the environment, I also found out that Lisa had her heart set on finding a house with extensive sea views.

It wasn’t long before the day came were she succeeded and a house with a magnificent view of the water was hers. It was then I thought; Good on you, Well Done Lisa!!! 
I was even more impressed when I actually saw the view.  
I didn’t know it then but scoring that house was definitely a result of Lisa being able to choose and then go for it.

After years of living in her dream home, developers bought the site and Lisa and her husband had to move.
Curious to know if she’d give up on her sea view, I asked her where she was going to live next.
Unperturbed, Lisa told me quite simply that she’d always chosen a sea view and that’s what she’d also have with her next home. And NO she wouldn’t be giving up on it, if that’s what I was thinking. 

I must admit, she’d grabbed my attention and I was curious; how on earth was she going to manage that!
You see, although Auckland has a long shoreline, houses with expansive sea views are rare and what is more they are expensive. 
Finding another affordable place with her beloved sea view was not something she could do twice, in my opinion anyway. However I should not have underestimated Lisa. 
As I said before Lisa was unperturbed, she clearly had chosen living with a sea view and off she went again to get it.

And believe it or not, she did find another house with a breath taking extensive view.
The garden this time however was not extensive.
To be honest there was hardly any garden at all. Just a big garage and a carport.

In the meantime Lisa had a baby, an adorable son. 
Although there was no garden or space to speak of, Lisa decided that the best thing she could do for her son was to feed him fresh veggies grown in her own garden. 
Again I thought how on earth was she going to manage that with only a concrete carport to play with?

I need not have worried though; it is amazing to see how creative people get when they have chosen to go for what they desire. 
I think what Lisa did was fantastic.
She stuck to her desires; she had no intention of giving up one dream, a seaview for another, her veggie garden. She simply chose both.
Most people would have just moved to a suburban house with a bigger garden and compromised on their  desire; a view of the water.
But not Lisa. 

Lisa had chosen both. So she went to work taking actions that were consistent with her choices. She rounded up recycling bins, all 50 of them and placed them in her carport.
Next she filled them with potting mix, planted her seeds and hey presto . . . instant veggie production for her and her family. 
As you can see from the photo, she is doing extremely well.
I love how she stands there as the proud owner of her thriving veggie garden, while still enjoying her sea view. 
Defying all odds.

Now you know why I am in awe of her. She is one choosing queen.