Patience

     In the book entitled, "Live Your Dreams" by Les Brown, the author cites another book entitled, "An Enemy Called Average", by John L. Mason.  In this book, John Mason writes about a tree called the Giant Bamboo that has a particularly hard seed.  It's so hard that to grow you must water and fertilize that seed every day for four (4) years before any portion of the seed breaks the surface.  And then, in the fifth (5) year, the tree shows itself.

     The remarkable thing about this plant, is that once it breaks the surface, this bamboo plant, like many of the species, is capable of growing at rates as fast as four (4) feet a day to a height of ninety (90) feet in less than a month!

     Les Brown asks the cosmic question, "Did the bamboo tree grow ninety feet in under a month?  Or did it grow over five years?  Over five years of course!  Most people do not realize that if the grower had stopped watering or fertilizing that seed at any point, the tree would have died.

     When they don't see instant results, many people become discouraged with their dreams and goals.  They become impatient.  And I believe many of them walk away from their dreams just as they are about to break through and flourish.  You must have patience.  Your time is going to come if you work diligently and meticulously.

     It doesn't matter if no one else recognizes that.  It matters only that You see it and you have the patience to wait for it."

     Thanks, Les Brown, for these words of encouragement!  When you become discouraged that you have not met your goals or dreams, remember the bamboo plant and have patience.