Bamboo: A Metaphor for Business and Personal Development

Are you wondering what bamboo and business development could possibly have in common? Stick with me here, the takeaway can be applied in every aspect of our lives, but especially in business relationships and our own personal development. And as we enter this new month, I thought it was a perfect beginning to our March story….

Giant timber bamboo grows like no other plant in the world. They say it grows so quickly that you can hear it. Under optimum conditions, bamboo has been recorded growing up to 46 inches per day. That’s nearly 4 feet! How cool would it be to have that kind of growth in your personal or business life?

What is even more amazing about giant timber bamboo is that once it’s planted, it takes AT LEAST 3 YEARS for it to break through the surface. Timber farmers tend to it faithfully, watering it every day, even though there’s no visible evidence of growth for years.

Another fascinating fact about this bamboo is that you can plant other crops above it for those 3 years that it’s working its way to the surface. So, you can be working on your bamboo, but also planting corn, beans, and any other crop that will help sustain you in the meantime. When you’re watering those crops, you’re also watering the bamboo.

What are you working on–or dreaming about–right now, that you won’t see results from for years?

Whether it’s in our business, our relationships with family or friends, even our fitness – our society desires instant gratification. But the idea of “overnight success” in anything just isn’t true. The reality is that great things come from patience and small positive actions that compound over time; until one day things really TAKE OFF!

The giant timber bamboo teaches us that the improvement process is often discouraging, but great things happen if we stay persistent when we aren’t seeing any results.

If it seems like all of your hard work isn’t adding up right now – be patient and keep WATERING THE BAMBOO!