A great lesson of patience, persistence and hard work can be learned from the story of planting Chinese bamboo. Unlike most other plants, Chinese bamboo is quite unique on its own.
When this bamboo is planted and nurtured for the whole growing season, it does not outwardly develop even just for an inch. Then, on the next growing season, the farmer must continue to irrigate, fertilize and care for the bamboo tree and yet nothing happens.
The next seasons, the farmer has to continue caring for the bamboo for four consecutive years without nothing substantial to demonstrate for all of his labor in caring and growing the tree. Four lonely years of hard work and caring and nothing!
And then on the fifth year, the bamboo tree shoots up to more than 80 feet all in just one growing season! Now, that is a very astonishing demonstration of the power of nature!
The little tree was actually developing itself underground by expanding its root system to make it tough enough to sustain its impending external growth in the fifth year and even beyond.
This story is similar to our trading career. As traders, we have to patiently exert efforts in learning and disciplining to develop right skills and to adopt strong character while at the same time defeat many difficulties and different challenges.
We can work for many years with no visible signs of progress and then, all of the sudden, things take off. Our business becomes profitable. All of this requires faith and perseverance.
The Chinese bamboo tree farmers have faith that if they keep watering and fertilizing the ground, the tree will break through.
Well, we must have the same kind of faith, whether it is to run our trading business. We must have faith that if you keep making the right work, we too will see growth in the future.
This is the hard part for most of us. We can't wait. It may take years, but finally, the roots will take hold and our tree will grow and when it does, it will grow in remarkable ways. We all have a bamboo tree inside of us just waiting to break through. Don't give up!
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