This ancient Chinese parable teaches a lesson about success
Recently I’ve been reading up on Taoism.
It’s kind of like the cousin of Stoicism, with tons of valuable life lessons.
I recently stumbled upon a short story that stuck with me deeply.
I figured you might enjoy it.
The Parable:
The story begins with two woodsmen who live on separate mountains. Their only water source was a stream running at the bottom of the valley.
Every day, they’d meet to fill their buckets before climbing back to their huts.
Over time, they became friends.
But during a warm summer evening, one woodsman failed to appear.
“Strange,” the other thought. It was the first time in five years that he had not collected water.
“Perhaps he was too busy.”
The next day passed without appearance. Then a week. Then two. The man grew concerned that his friend was hurt. He crossed the stream and climbed to the woodsman’s hut.
But there he was, sitting outside, reading a book, looking quite relaxed.
“You haven’t been to the stream in weeks,” the woodsman said, his relief palpable. The other apologized, explaining he didn’t mean to worry him.
“But how have you survived without water?”
His friend smiled. “Let me show you something.”
They walked around the hut. In his yard was a well. The woodsman peered down the dark hole.
“I cannot see the bottom. How were you able to dig so deep?” He asked.
“This is what I’ve been working on for the past five years,” his friend replied. I dug every day. Even if I was exhausted, I’d come home and dig a little further. I figured some progress was better than none.”
The other woodsman was amazed.
“You found water two weeks ago, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” his friend smiled. “I no longer need to walk to the stream. I now have time to do things I enjoy. In fact, you caught me reading my book on the Tao.”
Analysis
This story exemplifies an easily forgotten truth:
The power of consistent, small efforts over a long period of time.
When we’re stuck in a shitty situation, it’s easy to fall into a pit of despair.
As humans, it's easy to normalize suffering. To become slaves to our routines–going through the motions of a life that we ‘tolerate’ instead of genuinely love.
But you don’t get what you want by mistake.
Success is not an accident.
You must be willing to work on your goals day in and day out if you want to change your circumstances.
I can only say this from personal experience.
I played sports my whole life as a child and into adulthood.
Once that came to an end after college, I felt lost, and my appearance turned into something I wasn’t proud of.
I then went down a rabbit hole for years of going to the gym, taking classes, reading articles, watching videos, getting certifications, and learning how to eat cleaner foods that fuel my body.
Years later, I'm now at a point in my life where I’m comfortable in my own skin.
I can take my shirt off at the beach and feel proud of what I’ve achieved through years of discipline.
Here’s the truth:
Success is not about big bursts of effort—relying on motivation to get you through hard things.
It’s about consistent effort. You must have a vision of your dream life and then bring it into reality, one step at a time.
Here are a couple reflection questions to get you started:
1. Are you happy with your current situation?
2. Do you have something you want to achieve? Something that lights a fire inside you?
3. Are you prioritizing time to make it a reality?
I write about how to prioritize goals in my essay here.
In the end…
I only have one sentence for you:
If you want to enjoy the water, then it’s time to start digging the well.
Keep Pluggin.
-C.
