Why Trees Grow And Men Don't - Little Mistakes That We Make

WATERING

Whoever plants a tree knows he has to water it. Apart from pulling resources and taking in nutrients from the ground, a growing plant also benefits from what it is being fed on the outside. In fact, a plant that is never watered will only gradually wither and die.

For the human individual that wants to grow and excel in life, watering is to go to external sources and take from their wealth to build up your own capacity.

Needless to say, everyone is born with innate potentials and capacity for amazing exploits. You'd be surprised to find out that men like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Albert Einstein amongst so many other men who lead impressive lives do not have more brain capacity than you do and none of them was born in exceptional circumstances. What then makes the difference between you and them? It is the information they have (that you don't) and the effort they put in (that you don't).

If you take time to look into the lives of great people and consider the common features in all, you'd discover that all successful persons take information and knowledge seriously. These men will go lengths to buy books, give their money to conduct researches, visit people ahead to ask questions and gain knowledge, then they'd apply what they have learnt to their lives.

No man is an island and it is impossible for a single tree to make a forest. If you are determined to grow and to grow healthy, you must learn to draw from other people's well of information through reading, researching, following and asking questions, then applying. 

SUNLIGHT

The tree draws much nutrients from the soil in which it is planted and from the external watering it gets. But like I earlier mentioned, inside its own seed is the innate capacity to become a big tree. This is its own natural resources and the seed which is planted is only supported by the other factors that aid its growth. Ultimately, an apple seed, when planted is going to produce an apple tree regardless of what source it is watered from or what soil it is planted in.

While it is important to draw lessons and information from other people, it is important that you learn to harness your own individual potential and creativity. Everything else is only a build-up and support for what you have inside. It is a great mistake (one which we often make) to try to recreate in ourselves the personality and passions of someone else.

People who do that very often end up frustrated and confused because they are chasing after what they are not. Don't be an apple seed trying to produce mangoes. Water your own seed and excel in your own true nature.

SEASONS

There are several seasons in the life of a tree just like humans. I want to focus on two of those.

There's the sprouting, when the tree has grown to maturity but is not producing fruits. An ordinary man who is not a farmer or does not understand seasons may begin to worry at the tree's supposed bareness, but this is just not its fruiting season and no amount of worrying or watering can cause it to produce fruits. I know there are now Genetically Modified foods and fruits that are bred with chemicals and produced faster than its regular timing, but these often are not safe for consumption and have been often linked to diseases and ailments.

You also have seasons. The Bible puts it this way in the third chapter of Ecclesiastes; 

"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven"

Don't be tempted to worry or to speed up your own processes without going through the motions. You will only end up a half cooked product with mediocre products. Meanwhile, the result of waiting out of your own season is that what you carry is in exclusive demand at that time and you come out ripe and full blown.

Then, there's the fruiting and harvesting season. When the tree is not only mature but its fruits are also ripe and ready for the market. The key is that the farmer knows when to harvest and knows where his product is in demand.

Understand your seasons, know when things move in your business or field and be prepared to harvest in that season. It is important that your waiting period does not go to waste and that you are ready for the demands of harnessing your fruits and sending them to the right marketplace.

The nation Nigeria is said to be in recession right now but for those who understand seasons, this is a season when people need solutions more than ever. I hope you're one of those who look deep enough to take advantage of the season and I hope that you thrive.