The Chinese bamboo is one awesome plant we all can learn from. When you plant a seed, water it, add fertilizer, nurture it and provide it with optimum soil moisture, temperature and humidity; no visible sign of emergence would be seen even after a year. Nothing is seen despite all the efforts!
Well, maybe the second year should be fruitful but unfortunately, nothing happens.

No sign of life for the third year.

No sign of life for the fourth year also!

Despite all the efforts put into continuous watering, fertilizing and nurturing for good 4 years, it all seems a waste — waste of time, effort and resources. You did everything right. Everything provided for the soil is at optimum level but yet, the seed never emerged.

Interestingly, on the fifth year, with nonstop nurturing, the seed sprouts and grows. Amazingly, it grows 90 feet in 6 weeks! That’s quite unbelievable. The Chinese bamboo looks dormant for the initial four years of planting but little is known that it is preparing itself for what lies ahead. The initial four years was to develop very sturdy underground root system which will help it support the height of the bamboo tree in the fifth year. Life is much similar to the growth manner of the Chinese bamboo tree. StudentCosmos gives us 5 life lessons to learn from the Chinese bamboo:

Sow a seed (Sacrifice)
Just like plants, you have to sow before making any harvest. To attain that level of success, you must be ready to sacrifice some certain things. The sacrifice could come in form of time, money, habits, self-gratification or even ego. As students, how much time, energy and dedication do you put into your studies to get very good grades? A mate who graduated with good grades had put in a lot studying. The overnight reading, regular class attendance, daily study at the library are the seeds sown to achieving success. How much money are you ready to put into pursuing a course that will benefit you in the nearest future? Can you set your ego aside in order to learn something new from your junior staff or colleague? It might look difficult but it’s worth it in the long run. How will the Chinese bamboo farmer harvest bamboo without sowing the seed? Sow a seed now and reap your reward later.

Little Things Count
Carefully examine the farmer in the story. He kept doing some things to the planted seed no matter how little they might be. Before a seed can germinate up to harvest, there are some activities that must be carried out. Activities like mulching, weeding, pruning, fertilizing, watering and the rest. These actions look tiny and cumbersome but they could have direct or indirect effects on the growth and yield of the crop. To attain success in life, there are certain actions you must take. The little extras that can push you ahead of your peers. Punctuality to office might look ordinary and negligible to others, but might be a perquisite for promotion. The extra research on a subject can give you exclusive knowledge on that subject. The smiles, act of kindness, respect, resourcefulness, after class study, extra trainings and practice might look little but they do count.

Patiently Work Hard
Two powerful words are carefully joined here: “Patience” and “Hard Work”. These words go hand-in-hand. If the farmer had not been patient enough, he could have abandoned the project long time ago. Same way a lot of people quit a project when it doesn’t seem to yield reward. Not only was he patient but worked hard towards the realization of the project. The Chinese bamboo farmer never stayed home idle waiting patiently. He consistently worked on the project for 5 good years. How much time or effort have you put into a project before calling it quit? Ask Thomas Edison how much time and effort he did put into the invention of the electric light bulb then you would know you haven’t done anything. Don’t call it quit yet, just patiently work hard.

Have Strong Belief
The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent – Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you don’t believe it, you can’t achieve it. Just believe you can do it and you will do it. It was belief that made the farmer continue working on the seed despite no sign of life. He strongly believed the Chinese bamboo tree will in due course grow irrespective of the years it took. It takes belief in yourself to keep going. With belief, you’ll sure know that your hard work would be rewarded — sometimes now, often times later, always eventually.

Build Strong Foundations
Very strong foundations really matter in life. Now imagine that Chinese bamboo tree germinating quickly few days after planting and developing to 90 feet in six weeks with the root system of a maize? Will it be able to stand? No! The Chinese bamboo spent four years developing a very strong root system that will be enough to carry the stature of the tree. A clear indication that there is no shortcut to success. No wonder we spend years in school before graduating. All these are to prepare us for the future ahead. We need to master some skills, overcome challenges and build strong characters in order to handle success. Get-rich-quick thinkers run into problems when hit with sudden success or wealth. Build a strong foundation because your height of success is unfathomable.

Culled from:
www.http://studentcosmos.com/life-lessons-chinese-bamboo

Lessons can only be learnt. We are not created to be the same.


Mustards have big trees though not as high as the said bamboo. But certainly it's more deep rooted!!!


I prefer the Mustard tree. Because it provides shade on a sunny day.

Nice one