All plants need nurturing; sun, water, food, good ground. As does the Chinese Bamboo tree. But in the first, second and third years, there is no sign of any progress. Even in the fourth year, the gardener sees no growth above the ground. He probably thinks the thing is dead and that he has wasted all these years. Then, suddenly, in the fifth year, the bamboo starts growing like crazy – 80 feet in only six weeks!

Calvin Coolidge said, “Press on: nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; un-rewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

We know that successful people don’t become successful overnight. Longfellow wrote, “The heights of great men reached and kept were not obtained by sudden flight. But they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.” Winners work and losers shirk. Winners understand that they will achieve what they believe and they are prepared to pay the price of success. Losers will suggest you “slow down, take it easy, have a break and don’t push yourself too hard.” Winners will encourage you and push you to achieve more: “Is that all you’ve got? Are you giving up already? You can do better than that!”

So when you’re working hard, believing in your dreams and not seeing the results quite as soon as you expected to, don’t quit. Remember the bamboo. And here’s an emergency prescription that you can take when you’re feeling weak, tired, despondent and ready to throw in the old towel:
1. Call four of the most motivated, driven, ambitious and positive people you know.
2. Read from inspiring books and biographies – authors like Ayn Rand, Napoleon Hill and Tony Robbins.
3. Take decisive action. Find alternative systems without changing your objective. Seek strong Joint Venture partners. Meet and brainstorm with fellow Joint Venture Forum Members.
4. Review your goals and results and reject and replace nonperforming people and activities.

The patient gardener keeps his eyes on his goal, redoubles his efforts, focuses on the positive and guards his mind against pessimism. He knows that “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve”. Hold the wheel through the storm - you will soon reach Treasure Island. Let us remember the bamboo plant and fight on like the true warrior eagles we are.

“There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries.” William Shakespeare

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