The Parable of The Pipeline
Story by courtesy of Burke Hedges
Once upon a time long, long ago, two ambitious young cousins named Pablo
and Bruno lived side by side in a small Italian village.
The young men were best buddies, and big dreamers.
They would talk endlessly about how someday, someway, they would become
the richest men in the village. They were both bright and hard working.
All they needed was an opportunity.
One day that opportunity arrived. The village decided to hire two men to
carry water from a nearby river to a cistern in the town square. The job
went to Pablo and Bruno.
Each man grabbed two buckets and headed to the river. By the end of the
day, they had filled the town cistern to the brim. The village elder paid
them one penny for each bucket of water.
"This is our dream come true!shouted Bruno. "I can't believe our good
fortune."
But Pablo wasn't so sure.
His back ached and his hands were blistered from carrying the heavy
buckets. He dreaded getting up and going to work the next morning. He
vowed to think of a better way to get the water from the river to the
village.
Pablo The Pipeline Man:
"Bruno, I have a plan," Pablo said the next morning as they grabbed their
buckets and headed for the river. "Instead of lugging buckets back and
forth for pennies a day, let's build a pipeline from the village to the
river."
Bruno stopped dead in his tracks.
"A pipeline! Whoever heard of such a thing?" Bruno shouted. "We've got a
great job, Pablo. I can carry 100 buckets a day. At a penny a bucket
that's a dollar a day! I'm rich!. By the end of the week, I can buy a new
pair of shoes. By the end of the month a cow. By the end of six months I
can buy a new hut. We have the best job in town. We have weekends
off and two weeks paid vacation every year. We're set for life! Get out of
here with your pipeline."
But Pablo was not easily discouraged. He patiently explained the pipeline
plan to his best friend. Pablo would work part of the day carrying
buckets, and part of the day and weekends building his pipeline.
He knew it would be hard work digging a ditch in the rocky soil. Because
he was paid by the bucket he knew his income would drop. He also knew it
might take a year or two before his pipeline would pay off. But Pablo
believed in his dream and he went to work.
Bruno and the rest of the villagers began mocking Pablo, calling him
"Pablo The Pipeline Man." Bruno, who was earning almost twice the money as
Pablo, flaunted his new purchases. He bought a donkey outfitted with a new
leather saddle, which he kept parked outside his new two-story hut. He
bought flashy clothes and fancy meals at the inn. The villagers called him
Mr. Bruno, and they cheered when he bought rounds at the tavern and
laughed loudly at his jokes.
Small Actions Equal Big Results:
While Bruno lay in his hammock on evenings and weekends, Pablo kept
digging his pipeline. The first few months Pablo didn't have much to show
for his efforts. The work was hard, even harder than Bruno's because Pablo
was working evenings and weekends too.
But Pablo kept reminding himself that tomorrows dreams are built on
todays sacrifices. Day by day he dug, inch by inch.
Inches turned into one foot........... then ten feet............ then
20............. then 100.
"Short-term pain equals long-term gain," he reminded himself as he
stumbled into his hut after another exhausting day's work. "In time my
reward will exceed my efforts," he thought.
"Keep your eyes on the prize," he kept thinking as he drifted off to sleep
with the sounds of laughter from the village tavern in the background.
The Tables Are Turned:
Days turned into months. One day Pablo realized his pipeline was half-way
finished, which meant he only had to walk half as far to fill his buckets!
Pablo used the extra time to work on his pipeline.
During his rest breaks, Pablo watched his old friend Bruno lug buckets.
Bruno's shoulders were more stooped than ever. He was hunched in pain, his
steps slowed by the daily grind. Bruno was angry and sullen, resenting the
fact that he was doomed to carry buckets, day in, day out, for the rest of
his life.
He began to spend less time in his hammock and more time in the tavern.
When the tavern's patrons saw Bruno coming they'd whisper, "Here comes
Bruno the Bucket Man, and they giggle when the town drunk mimicked
Bruno's stooped posture and shuffling gait. Bruno didn't buy rounds or
tell jokes anymore, preferring to sit alone in a dark corner
surrounded by empty bottles.
Finally Pablo's big day arrived, his pipeline was complete! The villagers
crowded around as the water gushed from the pipeline into the village
cistern! Now that the village had a steady supply of fresh water, people
from around the countryside moved into the village and the village
prospered.
Once the pipeline was complete, Pablo didn't have to carry buckets
anymore. The water flowed whether he worked or not. It flowed while he
ate. It flowed while he slept. It flowed on weekends while he played. The
more the water flowed into the village, the more money flowed into Pablo's
pockets!
Pablo the Pipeline Man became known as Pablo the Miracle Maker. But Pablo
understood what he did wasn't a miracle. It was merely the first stage of
a big, big dream. You see, Pablo had bigger plans. Pablo planned on
building pipelines all over the world!
Recruiting His Friend To Help:
The pipeline drove "Bruno The Bucket Man" out of business, and it pained
Pablo to see his old friend begging for drinks at the tavern. So, Pablo
arranged a meeting with his old friend.
"Bruno, I've come here to ask you for your help." Bruno straightened his
stooped shoulders, and his dark eyes narrowed to a squint. "Don't mock
me," Bruno hissed.
"I haven't come here to gloat," said Pablo. "I've come here to offer you a
great business opportunity. It took me more than two years before my first
pipeline was complete. But I've learned a lot during those two years. I
know what tools to use now, and where to dig. I know where to lay the
pipe. I kept notes as I went along so now I have a system that
will allow me to build another pipeline in less time........... then
another........... then another.
I could build a pipeline a year by myself, but what I plan on doing is
teach you how to build a pipeline, then have you teach others and have
them teach others.
"Just think, we could make a small percentage of every gallon of water
that goes through those pipelines."
Bruno finally saw the big picture. They shook hands and hugged like old
friends.
Pipeline Dreams In A Bucket-Carrying World:
Years passed. Their world pipelines were pumping millions of dollars into
their bank accounts. Sometimes on their trips through the countryside,
Pablo and Bruno would pass villagers from other villages carrying buckets.
The friends would pull over and tell them their story and offer to help
them build a pipeline. But sadly, most bucket carriers would hastily
dismiss the notion.
"I don't have the time."
"My friend told me he knew a friend who's uncle's best friend tried to
build a pipeline and failed."
"Only the ones who get in early make money on a pipeline."
"I've carried buckets my whole life, I'll stick to what I know."
"I know people who lost money in a pipeline scam."
Both men resigned themselves to the fact they lived in a world with a
bucket-carrying mentality............. and only a very small percentage of
people would ever see the vision.
End Of Story
WE LIVE IN A BUCKET-CARRYING WORLD
Who are you? A bucket-carrier............ or a pipeline builder? Do you
get paid only when you how up for work like Bruno the Bucket Carrier?
Or do you do the work once and get paid over and over again like Pablo the
Pipeline Builder?
If you're like most people, you're working the bucket-carrying plan. It's
the time-for-money-trap.
The problem with bucket carrying is that the money stops when the
bucket-carrying stops. Which means the concept of a "secure job" or "dream
job" is an illusion. The inherent danger of carrying buckets is that the
income is temporary instead of ongoing.
If Bruno woke up one morning with a stiff back and couldn't get out of
bed, how much money would he earn that day? ZERO! No Work-No Money!
The same goes for any bucket-carrying job. Once bucket-carriers stop carry
buckets for any reason, they won't continue to get a paycheck.
What do bucket-carriers do when they need more money?
Because they have a bucket-carrying mentality, they come up with a
bucket-carrying solution............ if you need more money you've got to
carry more buckets!
The point is, there are lots of bucket carriers in the world that think
they are "doing just fine". But they can't stay in the free-fall forever.
Sooner or later they'll meet the ground.
For bucket carriers it's................... don't or can't show up for
work............... no more paycheck!
Who are you my jambo forum member, a bucket carrier or a pipeline builder? who are the fisadis, could, probably in between?