CAN MONEY GROW ON TREES?

Do you believe money grows on trees? I think so. You must be puzzled. Let us take palm oil as an example. We get palm oil from the seed kernels of the palm tree. After extracting oil out of the seed kernels, it is sold in the market, and the oil maker earns money. So we can say that trees give us cash or money grows on trees.

Another example is a vineyard. The owner grows grapes. After the grapes are ripe, he sends it to the brewery so that wine can be made out of it. After all the processes, wine is ready to consume. The winemaker then sells it the market and the business makes money.

We could quote hundreds of examples that don’t include trees, but I guess you’ve got what I mean.

The trees are nothing but a metaphor for your business, your assets, and your networks. These are the seedlings, which will eventually turn into a tree and give you fruits, i.e. money. They generate income for you just like trees produce fruits.

For the trees to produce high-quality fruits, we would have to take proper care of it and nurture it well. You have to be very patient and try to save the trees from unfavourable weather conditions, pests and insects.

Similarly, if you take proper care of your business, assets, and human networks, they too will bear fruits. For that, you have got to protect it from all the shortcomings and have to give sufficient time and energy it needs. In this manner, your business will flourish, and you’ll be able to gain maximum benefit out of it.

We all know the story of the golden goose that laid golden eggs. Its master was greedy. He thought that she lays just one golden egg a day, but if he cut the goose’s belly he’ll get all the golden eggs that the goose is going to lay in future. His foolishness and his greed killed the goose. As a result, he lost everything.

We must learn a lesson from it. You have to take care of your goose as it lays golden eggs for you just like you have to take care of your tree so that it gives you money. For the greedy business people, just like the goose owner, they will never be able to benefit for the most extended term.

The critical point to take away here is that some people don’t have the patience or they are merely shortsighted. If you think you can find a golden seed, plant it and it will grow money soon, you’ll be very miserable because there is no such thing in the world. For instance, those who are actively involved in money games, or Ponzi schemes, or always find unscrupulous dealings and shortcuts to make fast money, can never build a long-term business.

There are many types of entrepreneurs. I have seen many. But the most successful ones are those who work on one business at a time, with laser focus. A good example is our home-grown Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow, the founder of Public Bank who has a net worth of more than RM20 billion. He nurtures only one business over the past many decades – banking.

It is the same for many billionaires and multimillionaires we know of, such as Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs. Some are serial entrepreneurs like Elon Musk. Although these type of business owners work on several projects, they entirely concentrate their efforts and resources on one single business at one time, and not get distracted.

Put enough care to your moneygrowing assets right from the beginning. You’ll eventually see it growing money, season after season, if not yearlong. If you want a reliable business cash-cow, build it to be one right from the start. Get the root to grow deep, and not even the most violent wind can uproot. Put adequate fertiliser for the business to have sturdy branches and lush leaves.

So can we conclude that money does grow on trees? If we want to derive maximum benefit from our business, we have to take the best care of it.

What if you are not in business yet like most of the salaried people? The golden goose is you!