Today, the weather was sunny and warm, my backyard gave me a nice reminder that it is cherry season. See, every year, right about now, we count our blessings that we have a cherry tree in the backyard and get to enjoy fresh, organic cherries picked right in our yard. In the past, I have always enjoyed standing on a ladder and picking the cherries. But this year, as you will see from the pictures below, the output has been nothing short of staggering. I probably should have expected it, because this cherry tree works in two year cycles (one year good, one year not as good) and now I seem to recall that 2018 was a decent year. But gradually reaching back toward my memory banks, I suddenly realized that actually this tree is becoming more and more productive through each cycle. What is amazing is that when the tree was planted, it wasn’t much of a tree. The trunk was probably a bit thicker than your fist. Now I am looking at a tree that probably has over a hundred pounds of cherry on it. I texted my dad to ask how long ago was it when we planted this tree. He replied that it was a decade ago. So in one decade, the tree went from a little sapling to something this magnificent. The scary part is, it’s not finished and will probably grow even bigger and produce an even larger haul in 2022.
This got me deep in thought. The tree isn’t that different than how we should view investments. When we make an investment, we usually look for an immediate return, or at the most we seek some sign that our investments work after a couple of years. But if that was the case, then we would have long ago counted out this tree. After a decade, the tree has truly blown our imaginations and is becoming a compounding machine whereby every year we can call July cherry month. So let this be a reminder that good investments take time to grow, sometimes maybe even a decade. But if you stick to your methods and have patience, one day you will be amazed as to the results.
