This short story will make you less anxious about timelines
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Hey Reader,
Today’s the first week I haven’t had caffeine in fifteen years. Saying that out loud feels insane.
After a decade and a half of daily coffee, I figured it’s time to see what my baseline actually is.
Right now, my brain feels about as useful as a screen door on a submarine… So instead of forcing something clever, I just want to share a story I keep coming back to.
This one rewired something for me early on. Let me know if it does the same for you.
The Chinese Bamboo Tree
You’ve probably heard some version of this.
A farmer plants a seed.
Year one: nothing.
Year two: nothing.
Year three: nothing.
Year four: still nothing.
For five straight years, the farmer waters it. Fertilizes it. Protects it. And there’s zero visible proof that anything is happening.
Just dirt.
Then in year five, in just six weeks… the tree explodes 90 feet into the air.
Now here’s the million-dollar question:
Did the tree grow 90 feet in six weeks?
Or did it grow 90 feet in five years?
Obviously, it’s the latter.
The whole time, underground, it was building a root system massive enough to support that kind of vertical explosion.
Here’s why this matters:
Your brain is wired for immediate feedback. Dopamine hits. Visible progress. Proof that what you’re doing is working.
And when you don’t get that feedback… your brain interprets it as failure. Even when you’re doing everything right.
I think about the years I spent making YouTube videos that got 200 views.
The months where nothing seemed to be working and I wanted to quit. Where I felt like I was doing everything right but had nothing to show for it.
Those were the years I questioned everything. My talent, my timing, even if I’d missed my shot.
From the outside, it looked like I wasn’t moving.
But looking back on it, there was a ton of movement; it was just underground.
I was learning how to write hooks, launch products, speak on camera, and show up consistently even when no one was watching.
Then one day… it all just clicked.
Not because I got lucky or a video went viral. But because I’d built the roots.
Here’s the part no one tells you:
We live in a world that worships the six-week explosion and ignores the five-year root system.
Everyone wants to see the 90-foot tree.
No one wants to be the farmer watering dirt for half a decade.
But you can’t skip the underground part. The roots are the growth. You just can’t see them yet.
So if you’re in a season where nothing seems to be happening, where you’re showing up, doing the work, and it feels like you’re getting nowhere, maybe you’re not stuck.
Maybe you’re rooting.
Keep watering.
See you next saturday,
CK
