Allison MaslanCEO & Business Scaling Expert | WSJ Bestselling Author

If you're in that stretch right now, I see you. Keep going.

11 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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Allison Maslan uses the bamboo story: four years of root growth underground, then 90 feet in six weeks. If you're stuck right now, you're building foundations you can't see yet. Keep going.

Chapters

Chinese bamboo does almost nothing for the first 4 years. You water it, you tend it, and nothing visible happens. Then in year 5, it grows 90 feet in 6 weeks. Was it growing the entire time? Of course. It was building a root system underground strong enough to support the explosion that was coming. So if you've been putting in the work and seeing nothing, do not quit. You're not behind. You're building roots. The visible growth always comes after the invisible work.