If you have read a good number of motivational books I’m quite certain that you have come across the story of the Chinese bamboo tree and how it is often used by motivational speakers as a case study for patience, perseverance and persistence.

The Chinese bamboo tree is one of the most interesting trees in the world, aside the fact that it has so many incredible uses and unique feautures, the most fascinating thing about this tree, is it’s growth process.

Before I share it…..let me vent….

We live in a quick-fix society driven by instant gratification. We get frustrated if we have to wait 1 minute for anything, whether it’s a queue at the supermarket or the stop light at traffic, We want instant solutions to every problem, instant answers to every question.

You see a young man who has an amazing business idea- an amazing initiative
– he creates a start-up company and puts in so much effort in the first few weeks, then weeks turn into months then he just gives up on his incredible -potential multi-million dollar- idea because the growth process took a little too long to mature and blossom. Sad!!

Dear friend, it takes patience, persistence, consistency and perseverance to build anything, whether it’s a business idea or a successful relationship. It doesn’t matter what it is you are building, if you want to achieve success in anything at all, you would have to make a decision to move forward despite the setbacks that would come, and irrespective of how long it takes.

I was scrolling through my timeline one day and I saw an interesting caption that read. Tell me how to be successful and please don’t mention hardwork.
I really wanted to look the person in the eyes and say “The price for success is hard work with grit and determination channeled in the right direction and at the right time” there are no cutting corners hunnai!!

The Chinese bamboo tree story!

Let’s take a cue from the chinese bamboo tree farmer and the frustration he faces. so, in the first year of planting the bamboo tree, no visible activity is seen, despite all the nurturing, grooming and watering. The tree appears to stay dormant on the ground, this frustration goes on for the first year, continues In the second year, again, no growth above the soil. The third, the fourth, still nothing. But after five years of persistence, consistency and perseverance the bamboo tree finally breaks out from the ground and within 6 weeks it grows to 80 feet.

As interesting as this story sounds take a moment to think of how much frustration the farmer may have faced, the uncertainty, the shame, the brain drain,the confusion!!!!
The Chinese bamboo tree takes five whooping years before it even sprouts from the ground. We are talking five years of hard work baby!

The Chinese bamboo tree facts!

All the time the tree took to sprout was in fact essential because while it appeared dormant the little tree growing underground, was developing a strong root system strong enough to support its potential for outward growth in the fifth year and beyond. The tree developed a strong foundation, firmly rooted in the ground, one that cannot easily be shaken or uprooted.

Had the tree not developed a strong unseen foundation it could not have sustained its life as it grew. This is an important life principle, People who patiently toil towards their dreams and goals, build strong character while overcoming adversity and challenge, they develop strong internal foundation to handle success.

Theres so much lesson to learn from the Chinese Bamboo on areas of business and personal growth. The bottom line is, It is never easy. It’s slow to show any progress. It’s frustrating and unrewarding at times. But it is so worth it….especially if we can be patient and persistent

The question is?
Can we stay focused and continue to believe in what we are doing even when we don’t see immediate results?
Progress may be slow – even invisible at times.

We had an amazing couple come over to church some weeks ago to tell us how it took 20 years of hard work with relentless determination and following right principles to build a budding farming enterprise. The story sounded so inspiring but take a moment. It took 20 years to make that happen.

This is the hard part for most of us. We get so excited about the idea that’s been planted inside of us that we simply can’t wait for it to blossom. Therefore, within days or weeks of the initial planting, we become discouraged and begin to second guess ourselves, or worse, quit.

Here’s the catch, You must have faith that if you keep pushing that you too will see rapid growth in the future.