One of the things Kathy and I always wanted was a big garden.

When we found our dream home in 1994 that was one of the things we fell in love with.

Sure, it was a little overrun. But it was huge. And it had potential. Three big borders and a woodland area shaded under horse chestnut trees.

And the most exciting bit for me was the prospect of getting my own little vegetable patch at the bottom of the garden.

It was something I'd always dreamed of. I come from a family of gardeners. Back in the mining villages of the North East you pretty much had football and your allotment.

That was life outside of work.

Unfortunately, the spot we'd earmarked had been used as a dumping ground for years by the previous owner. A quick bit of digging around and I discovered an overgrown knee-high wall and a buried climbing frame in there – just for starters.

It looked like a ton of work to sort out, so the vegetable patch plan got shelved for a bit.

And then a bit more.

And then a bit more still.

Pretty soon, I'd settled into thinking it might never get done. The thought of clearing that area was just so overwhelming.

And maybe it was OK like that. Maybe I could grow a few vegetables in the flower borders. or in pots. That would be alright, wouldn't it?

Not what I'd dreamed of, but OK really.

But Kathy hadn't forgotten my dream.

And after a couple of years of me putting things off she asked me the simple question: “are we going to do this or not?”

I knew by the look in her eyes that “no” wasn't an acceptable answer.

So late that summer I got out a spade and began to dig.

I'm not going to tell you it was easy when we got started – it wasn't. It was back-breaking work clearing that plot. Every spare hour every weekend for a month.

I still remember Kathy working away while heavily pregnant with our eldest. I remember us both being shattered every evening.

But I also remember the 20 plus years we've now had that vegetable patch.

The first crops – lettuce, carrots, peas, sweetcorn.

Growing giant onions, and giant parsnips in drainpipes for fun.

Putting up a greenhouse, and getting bumper harvests of tomatoes and peppers.

And most of all just being down there. Working on the garden and having somewhere away from work I could go to relax and think.

None of it possible without that first step of getting a spade and putting it into the ground.

Now you know where this is going, of course.

Sometimes in the last 20 or so years I've had the same feelings of being overwhelmed in my work and business.

Workload so high it seemed like I'd never get anything done.

So much to do to make an impact with so many potential clients. Not knowing where to start really. And nothing happening fast.

I'm betting you've felt like that too, at times.

So easy to put things off and think maybe it's OK.

Maybe things will sort themselves out. Maybe it doesn't really matter if the business doesn't grow this year or I don't bring in all those clients I was dreaming of.

But eventually, you have to ask yourself “am I going to do this or not?”

Because once you decide you are, all it takes is for you to put that first spade in the ground.

Sure, it'll be back-breaking work for a while. Dreams don't come easy.

But when they do come. When it does happen, they're so much better than you'd ever imagined.

So what about you? Are you going to do this or not?