This is a post that I wrote in LinkedIn
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| Chinese Bamboo Tree |
I love the story of Chinese Bamboo Tree....
The farmer plants a seed and water that week after week. Nothing
happens. It is as if the seed has decided to stay under the earth and
not to come out and grow.
He persists.
He waters it for one year, nothing happens
Second year, one more year of watering and deweeding, nothing still
Third and fourth year, nada. Nothing. Zilch.
And towards the end of fifth year, when he has all but given up, something amazing happens.
In a time span of about six weeks, the Chinese Bamboo Tree grows up
to an astonishing height of 90 Feet, that is a growth of about 2 feet
per day.
The five years spent under the earth was preparation for this extraordinary growth spurt.
Amazing, isn't it?
I am fascinated by this story at multiple levels.
This is very similar to what happens in life. Some people are like
the Bamboo Tree. Their potential remain hidden for a long time...
and then?
Wham !!!
They suddenly externalize their hidden potential. They perform
extraordinary tasks. They write their books, they start their
businesses...
They spent a long time hidden from the world and then over a short period of time they grow up explosively.
They are the 'late bloomers'. Einstein was one of them.
This story of Bamboo Tree also tells us that we must plant the seeds
of growth. They are called dreams. Once you have your dreams, we must
nurture them by adding love, affection and hope.
And patience. The Chinese farmer had loads of it.
Don't give up. Keep hoping, keep trying...
We cannot expect to achieve stuff if we do not plant the seed. And water them regularly.
We have to start with a dream. We have to start wanting something. Keep it totally focused.
Someone said, 'People always live their lives running away from what they fear. Instead they should run towards what they want'.
If you have your dreams and keep watering them you will achieve your dreams. That is for sure.
But....
Here is the thought...
What if we do not have any dreams?
There are many people who live their lives without a dream, a goal or
a destination. They don't know what they want. They simply get up in
the morning, go to work or whatever, come back and plop on the bed
feeling what one author mentioned as 'Bad Tired'. The life is lived as a
ritual, doing the same stuff over and over, without thinking, without
reflecting, without planning....
There is not goal, no destination...
There is no seed, there is no bamboo tree.
These people may have had dreams at some point in their past, but
they failed to nurture them thereby letting those dreams decay.
Even more unfortunate are those of us who have very good dreams,
healthy seeds, but they suppress them. They suppress their natural
tendency to grow and prosper. They are aware of their potential but are
not confident of following through with their potential. Their dreams
are small and easily attainable. They create 'Bonsai Bamboos'. Their
bamboo tree grows just tall enough. They do not
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| Bonsai Bamboo |
have the confidence to
back up their dreams. They do not respect themselves strongly enough to
take their dreams seriously.
That is scary, isn't it? That you have the potential and you decide
that you do not have potential. You do not have faith on your dreams, on
your abilities to achieve your dreams.
So, starting today, let us write our growth scripts. Let us start
focusing on our dreams. Write them down. Read them. Believe in them.
Nurture them with love and affection. Don't give up on your dreams.
And wait patiently as the amazing 'Bamboo Tree' effect take care of the rest.
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