Have you ever wondered why success often feels elusive and out of reach? Like you've been watering a patch of dirt for years, consistently tending, weeding, and fertilizing without having anything to show for it? Sit tight and let me share a compelling story that ties my recent family vacation in Maui before the tragic wildfires, to the journey of growing a business or becoming a successful social media influencer. With a captivating metaphor of how bamboo grows, we'll uncover the truth behind how success often shoots up unexpectedly after years of diligent unseen work.
So, come join me, Jenny Peterson, as we navigate this enlightening journey together. We'll reminisce about the magical experiences in Maui. From our underwater adventures in the city of Lahaina, to the visually stunning Road to Hana, and a surprise visit to a dense bamboo forest, where we learned a valuable life lesson. On the flip side, we'll reflect on the heart-wrenching sight of those beautiful places being consumed by a wildfire. Listen in for an uplifting message, a reminder to persist in your journey, regardless of how challenging it might seem. And remember, like bamboo, your success too can shoot up overnight after years of effort. Let's stay in it for the long game!
Speaker 1:
Welcome to the social media influencer podcast. I'm Jenny Peterson, a stay at home mom of three turned six-figure social media influencer, turned CEO of my own seven-figure product-based business. I'm obsessed with all things online business, online marketing, influencer marketing, affiliate marketing and social selling. Why am I spilling all my secrets? Because I believe when we all do better, we all do better. Let's dive in. Well, hey there, my beautiful friend. Welcome back to another episode. I have a story to share with you today.
Speaker 1:
So recently, my family traveled to Maui. We wanted to take one last family vacation before school started up again. Depending on when you're listening to this, maui is in all of the news right now because of the devastating wildfires that spread over the island. They say it's the deadliest wildfire in US history. In the last 100 years. The wildfires that happened in Maui have caused billions of dollars of damage. It's burned over 3,000 structures and hundreds of people lost their lives, lost their homes, lost their communities. One of the cities that was completely devastated, burned up in the fires, was the city of Lahaina, and this is so crazy because we were just there. That's where we were staying, we were just there. We got home on Tuesday at 1.30 am in the morning and the wildfires started Tuesday night. We missed it by that much and I'm like so grateful to God that we weren't there. I can't even imagine. But it's also so sad to think about this beautiful island that we just explored with our family. We had so many amazing memories there to think about, especially the town of Lahaina, where we went out of that harbor. We went on a submarine ride one day. We went back the next day and we caught a boat and went snorkeling in the middle of the ocean, and that's all gone. The streets that we just walked, they're all gone. The historic buildings that we passed, the shops that my kids bought souvenirs at, the amazing restaurant right on the ocean that we ate at it's all gone and it's just so sad to watch unfold. It's also really scary to know how close we were to actually being there when this natural disaster, these wildfires, started. It was a beautiful trip, a magical trip. We made so many amazing memories and I wanted to share a story with you, one of the amazing memories that we made while we were inside the bamboo forest.
Speaker 1:
We actually were not planning on going to the bamboo forest, I didn't even know that it existed. A local overheard me talking to my husband on the phone and overheard that we were planning to go to the beach. And he's piped in and said I wouldn't do it if I were you, you're gonna get sandblasted. And I was like, excuse me, what? And he said the winds are so strong here in Maui If you go at this time of day you're just gonna get sandblasted by the sand. He then told me all of the amazing things that we should do while we were on the island, including the road to Hana, which is this twisty, windy road through the mountains of Hawaii, with beautiful views, waterfalls and the bamboo forest.
Speaker 1:
The road to Hana was unlike any other road I've ever been on. It's a 65 mile stretch of highway with 620 curves and 59 one-way bridges. It was a little scary, I'm not gonna lie, but if you ever have the chance to go, go because it's absolutely beautiful. There's so many different stops along the way waterfalls, black sand beaches, red sand beaches, the best banana bread I've ever tasted. It is absolutely magnificent.
Speaker 1:
So we decided to listen to my new friend, alex, and not go to the beach at that time of day and be sandblasted, but instead to go on the road to Hana and specifically to go to the bamboo forest.
Speaker 1:
I have never been in a forest like the bamboo forest. It was thick and dense and just all around you bamboo and there's a little trail that goes through it and you follow this trail to three waterfalls. Each waterfall was harder and harder to get to. We only went to the first waterfall and we had to cross over this like river to get there and we helped each other get across and it was like this beautiful moment with my family, this team building moment that even my kids were like. We made it, we did it together, we worked together. It was really sweet. While we were in this beautiful bamboo forest, my husband started telling our kids about how Chinese bamboo grows and after he told my kids, I told him I said you should make a video. Let me record you telling about Chinese bamboo and let's share it with our you affiliates. So here's a clip of the video that he made for our you affiliates and for our children.
Speaker 2:
Hey, so real quick guys. We're in the bamboo forest in Maui and bamboo is one of my most favorite things Because every time I see it it's a life lesson we can learn. So, bamboo, it will be over three years underground building the root system without ever knowing it's there and then all of a sudden, in the next six weeks after that root system is built, it will shoot up over 90 feet. It's kind of like a lot of things in our lives, right, if we're right away we might not see success, but over time of building it, eventually we'll start reaping the benefits and when it happens, it will happen really quick from all the effort we put in. So remember that next time, if you're struggling or something or something doesn't come right away, be persistent with it. Eventually it will come.
Speaker 1:
That was my husband, preston Peterson. And then how amazing is he and I'm so grateful that he took that really cool experience of us being in a bamboo forest and sharing with our children how bamboo grows. Can you even imagine if you were trying to grow bamboo and for years it's under the surface? For years you're watering it, you're tending it, you're weeding around it, you're fertilizing it daily, being consistent, showing up, and there's nothing to show for it, just a patch of dirt, and then, after three to five years, it shoots up 90 feet in five to six weeks. So the question is did the bamboo take six weeks to grow or did it take five years to grow? We know the answer is five years, right, and so many times when we're building our businesses or growing our social media followings, it can feel like we're watering bamboo for years and nothing is happening. We're consistently showing up and we're not reaping the reward, we're not seeing the benefits, and then, all of a sudden, it's like overnight. You know you've seen an overnight success, right? There's no such thing, by the way, as an overnight success. There was years of work and dedication and consistently showing up before that person was ever an overnight success, but it appears like they're an overnight success because, just like bamboo, they shoot up 90 feet in the air in a very short amount of time. So I want to echo what my husband said and yes, he's mine, he's taken, he's taken, he's mine. I wanna echo what he said that you need to remember that when you're discouraged, when you're frustrated, when you're showing up consistently and you're not seeing the benefits from it, you're not reaping the rewards yet. Keep showing up, be persistent, be consistent, it will come.
Speaker 1:
It makes me think of so many of my friends that have built huge followings. I mean so many countless stories that sound the same. I have a friend that her Instagram account, like, blew up. Like went from 20,000 to almost 200,000 followers and it felt like it was overnight. But it wasn't overnight. She showed up every single day for years when nobody was watching, when nobody was pressing follow. Every single day she showed up and then it was like being bamboo. For years she showed up, she watered, she fertilized, she tended, she took care of and then, in a very short time span, she exploded. It was her time, her time to shine and her followers went crazy. So stick with it, sister. We are in it for the long game.
Speaker 1:
Whether you're building a business, whether you're trying to grow a following, be in it, for the long game Is there's no such thing as an overnight success. Stay with it and never give up. Well, friend, thank you so much for spending this time with me. Thank you so much for subscribing, leaving a five star review, sharing this with a friend. That really helps this podcast grow. And while I'm saying that, I'm like gosh, that's kind of like bamboo too. You show up, you record, you record, you put out all this content. You're not sure if anybody's listening to it and then it's gonna seem like overnight. It just goes crazy and you're an overnight success, although you and I both know there's no such thing right. There was work and time and years that went into it before. Thank you so much for spending this time with me. I love you so much. I'll see you inside another episode.