5 | Grow a Tree, Don't Fill a Bucket

With a bucket of water, there’s only one way to fill it up - more water. With a tree, we know the basics that help it grow, but the exact blend of those basics is never the same.

A bucket of water can be sheltered from the elements. A tree gets a front row seat to every storm for its entire life - water, wind, and even fire can contribute to its growth.

With a bucket of water what you spill is lost forever. When a tree loses a limb, it recovers with time.

It’s always easy to track progress to a full bucket of water. With a tree, it's impossible to know how it will grow each month, season, and year.

A bucket of water will never grow on its own, but a tree will.

It's easy to fall into the trap of believing that building financial wealth is like filling a bucket of water.

If you don't believe me, wait until the next time you hear someone say...

"I want to wait until things are more certain and then I’ll invest." They're filling a bucket.

"I want to invest, but I don’t want to lose any money.” They're filling a bucket.

"Once I get to a certain amount, then I will feel secure." They're filling a bucket.

A tree can't be protected from the storm, it will probably lose a limb or two at some point, and it never reaches a final size or shape. But none of these things keep us from growing trees.

Grow a tree, don't fill a bucket!

For those that can't get past the fact that a tree can die, read more here.