Justin Cobb | The Life and Times of Bamboo

Justin Cobb says: I don’t know how many of you know anything about bamboo, the tree made famous by giant panda bears? Well those spindly trees are actually fascinating parts of nature.

When the seed is planted in its first year the tree grows around 6 inches. Pretty slow-going you might thing. Well in its second year the tree grows by exactly 0 inches. But don’t worry, in its third year it grows by…0 inches. Do things get better in the 4^th year? Not really, the tree grows about 0 inches. How about the 5^th year? Well I suppose we make a little progress here, the bamboo tree can grow up to 90 feet. In fact all of the significant growth is done in a 3 month period and bamboos have been recorded growing 100cm in 24 hours.

This poses an important question. Does it take 12 weeks for a bamboo tree to grow, or 5 years? Now from years 2-4 you might not see anything happening to the tree but I’m pretty sure that below the surface there is some serious growing going on. And I’m also certain that if the bamboo tree were to grow 89.5 feet straight away, without the proper roots, that the tree would fall over…quickly.

How many people have felt that they’ve been working their ass off to grow their business? Have you spent hours learning about your industry or developing your product, but outwardly there is no sign of growth? The roots of the bamboo tree are our working habits. You’ve got to lay down solid and positive working habits in order to grow. It is far more important to work on our actions instead of working for results, put in those foundations and the results will come.

How often have you heard an overeager news reporter say or write, ‘This band has become an overnight success!” I’d like to defer to someone older and wiser than me who once said, “It took me 15 years to become an overnight success.” – complete Justin Cobb

Don’t get frustrated if your bamboo doesn’t grow right away, keep caring for those roots, and your magnificent tree will come, I promise.