by Shawn Lim
Do you know that nature provides a lot of life and success lessons that you can learn from? And have you heard about the bamboo tree story? I know it may sound odd, but the Chinese bamboo tree gives us a ton of insights and success lessons that everyone can and should learn from.
Like any other tree, the bamboo requires water, fertile soil, and sunshine. When you plant a bamboo tree, in the first year, you will never see any growth from it.
And in the second year, still, you will notice no growth above the soil. It is still at the same height even if you water it, fertile the soil, and make sure it gets enough sunlight.
Even after the third and fourth years, you will still notice that there are no changes to the bamboo tree.However, in the fifth year, the bamboo tree start to grow. And within a short 6 weeks,the bamboo tree grows 80 feet tall.
The key is that the bamboo is growing all the years, but the growth is underground where you can’t see. The bamboo will grow its roots deep into the ground in the first few years because it knows that for it to grow tall, it needs to have strong roots.
If the bamboo did not have a strong foundation (its roots), it will never grow to 80 feet tall because it is not sustainable.
So, what are the life and success lessons you can learn from the bamboo tree?
- Success isn’t happening overnight
Yes, success isn’t going to happen overnight, but it will happen over time. So, don’t rush.Many people fail to produce the results they want because they are always looking for quick-fixes. They want fast results.And this leads them to think short-term. They only focus on what is in front of them rather than on what they want in the future. Do you know that when thinking long-term is one of the keys to Warren Buffett’s investing success?
Buffett knows the value of the stocks that he picked. After he bought it, he will hold the stocks until the targeted price he projected. He will not sell in the short-term, even if the market is in the downturn, he holds on to his discipline and aims for the long-term growth.
2.You need to have patience
And because success will not come to you overnight, you need to nurture your patience and work on it. Most people fail because they give up halfway.
They lack the patience needed to succeed. Like the bamboo, if you are someone who doesn’t have the patience, you will quit and give up in the first few years when you don’t see any significant growth.
If you read the biographies of extraordinary people like Steve Jobs, Kobe Bryant, Mark Cuban, Elon Musk, etc., you will notice that they don’t look at the immediate return from what they do. Instead, they focus on the long-term gain.
They have the patience to work on their dreams and materialize what they want in their business, career, and life. They understand that as long as they have the patience, they can achieve the results they want.They follow these life and success lessons.
3.You must work on what you want
You can’t just plant the bamboo tree and then just wait it out. You need to make sure it gets enough sunlight, water, and the soil condition is suitable for the bamboo to grow.Without the nurture, the bamboo will wither. The same goes for your goals and dreams.
If you don’t work on them, they will wither away.
The only way to make sure you get what you want is by constantly working on it. You can’t just think about success and then do nothing and hope that it will come to you in the next 5 years. It doesn’t work that way. You have to work for what you want.
4.You need to build a strong foundation
This is common sense, isn’t it? Yet, most people only want success, but they never consider their abilities if they can handle the success they seek.
If you want to run a successful million-dollar business, you need to grow and develop yourself into a person who has the ability to do so. You can’t become as good as Michael Jordan if you don’t train and improve your skills.
No matter what kind of success you want to achieve in life, you need to improve yourself and grow yourself into the right person who is worthy of it.
Like the bamboo tree did in the first few years, it grows its roots to build a strong foundation for it to grow 80 feet tall above ground. You have to do the same and build your foundation.
5.It is about being consistent
Success is not a sprint, but a marathon. It is going to take time and thus, you don’t have to rush for results. You just need to be consistent.
What you do every day is more important than what you do once in a while. If you want to lose weight, you can’t exercise for a day and then hope for a slim and fit body. You need to be consistent. You need to exercise regularly.
This is why consistency is key. Many people fail to achieve their goals because they are not being consistent enough.
They work on their goals for a few days or weeks, and then when they don’t see the results they want, they quit or jump to another project. Never let this happen to you. Be consistent.Follow this as life and success lessons.
6.You have to trust that it will all pay off
Trust is important. This is because your hard work isn’t going to pay off immediately, hence, you need to have to trust in what you do. In other words, you have to have faith.
Believe that it will all pay off.It is true that there is no guarantee for success, but as long as you are working for it, you will achieve it. If you don’t work for it, it will be a guarantee that you are going to fail.
Thus, like the bamboo tree, trust it will all happen and just focus on growing yourself.
If you are working hard right now, your future will pay off. But if you don’t, there is no way the future you want will materialize.
7.There is no need to show off your early success
Yes, you don’t have to show off your early success, just work quietly on your goals and let your results speak for yourself.
Like the bamboo tree, it grows its root underground quietly in the first few years. The bamboo doesn’t show the world that it is growing its roots. And once the time is right, it grows above ground, standing tall and high.
Just work on your goals and dreams. You don’t have to compare yourself with others.Just focus on doing your things. And as long as you are making progress, you are doing good.
8.Be flexible
The bamboo tree may not be the tallest nor the strongest in the forest, but it is often the one that survives a typhoon and strong wind. The reason is that it is flexible and able to bend its body to curb the strong wind.
You have to learn from the bamboo to be flexible and able to change quickly. When what you do isn’t giving the results you want, change your strategy, improve your plan, and then go all out again.
You don’t have to be overly rigid with your plan. Change when it needs to. Plus, the bend-but-don’t-break approach is one of the key secrets for success in your everyday life. You have to go with the flow instead of fighting against it.
9.Empty your cup
Do you know that when you cut the bamboo tree, you will see it is empty on the inside?
Like a cup, you can’t fill more water if you are full. If want to learn something new, you must first empty your cup.
The hollow insides of bamboo remind you that being too full of yourself will leave you with no spaces for additional stuff. You need to empty yourself and become a beginner again only then you will be able to take in something new.
10.Commit to continuous growth
No matter what you do in life, you must commit to continuous growth. Like the bamboo, it is always growing itself, either under the ground or above the ground.
Just like reading books. If you read a book a month, within a year, you will have read 12 books. And if you continue to do so for the next 5 years, you will have read 60 books.
And if each book gives you a good insight to improve your life and what you do, you will have gained tremendous insights and edge over those who don’t improve themselves.
And you just need to do it slowly. If you improve yourself just 1%, over time, the growth is exponential. You don’t have to take a big leap, instead, just start small and commit to making progress through baby steps.
Conclusion
There are so many great insights and life lessons one can learn from nature, and the bamboo is one of them.If you want to do great in life and achieve amazing success in what you do, learn from the bamboo and take the lessons above.
Shawn Lim is the founder of StunningMotivation.com and he’s a passionate blogger in the personal development industry who has inspired thousands to pursue their dreams and follow their passions. You can learn more about him from his website.
