I was reading The Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi when I came across a pretty cool sentence. Musashi was talking about the way people work in their professions. He says, “Of the two, flowers and fruit, the world is full of more flowers than actual fruit.” He goes on to say that martial arts schools were focused more on the flash and flurry of handling the weapons (flowers) rather than using the weapons in life-or-death situations (fruit).

It's easy to get swept away by the allure of flowers—those glitzy gimmicks and empty promises that seem enticing but lack actual value. We see this everywhere: in our careers, personal relationships, and even within ourselves. But to achieve real success, we must dig deeper, moving past superficiality to discover the fruit of genuine effort and authenticity. This journey is not just about what we say but what we live through our actions.