There are two types of people in this world — you’re either a mongo seed or a mango tree.
On the one hand, if you want to grow mongo (mung beans), you soak it in water for 8 hours, drain, and place it in a new container for germination. It takes between 2-6 days for mongo seeds to sprout fully. You can eat them already at this point.
On the other hand, a mango tree takes 6-10 years before it will bear fruit. But mango trees are long-lived and some are even producing fruit after 300 years.
Do you look at your life planting mongo seeds or mango trees?
Growing mongo seeds is easy, that’s short-term thinking. You always live one day at a time, not thinking of the future. Your content to sell to a customer — whatever it takes — even though your actions entail disengagement that causes one-time transactions with no repeat business that follows. You try something new — a fad — then give up if it doesn’t work in a few months. You get into a relationship because you find that person attractive now; here’s the bad news, that person will grow old one day.
Planting mango trees is hard. 6 years is a long time for anyone. You have to take care of that tree with no guarantee that it will reach maturity. But at the 6-year mark, the mango tree starts producing mangoes for hundreds of years. Moreover, it can make mango juice, mango pie, dried mangoes, and all sorts of food products.
Does it take someone to be special to succeed? Nope. Think long-term and be patient. When you are in a relationship that eventually leads to marriage, grow that into a mango tree. When you are starting a small business or you’re starting out in a career, grow that into a mango tree. As you can see, this is applicable in almost anything.
Approach life with a mango tree mindset rather than a mongo seed mindset. Think of yourself as a mango farmer: plant mango seeds, cultivate, and keep tending the trees until they produce fruit. Some of those trees will last even after your lifetime.