Three Roads for Three Brothers
Three Brothers
There was once three brothers who set off on the journey of a lifetime by embarking on three separate roads. Each brother was uniquely different, and quickly these roads diverged.
It was believed that the eldest brother was most wise because his path was clear and straight.
The middle brother was a strong walker but easily distracted. It was hard to keep him concentrated on the task at hand.
And finally, the youngest was generally thought of as lazy. He neither moved forward too quickly nor got distracted too easily. He was just slow. Deliberate.
The Eldest Brother
The eldest of the three brothers had a concrete goal in mind, for he hated the road. He never liked hiking. So he saw the end as a destination. A culmination of his struggles. His thirst for finishing was so great, that he often skipped meals and sleep to plod farther along. He suffered.
The eldest made great progress in a short time. His physical fatigue and emotional weakness buoyed by dreams of all the things he could do once he reached his destination. If only he could get there faster, he would be free. Free to travel foreign lands, or, even better, climb the tallest mountains.
These dreams were the steam in his engine, the gas in his car.
When he finally came to the end of the road, he did indeed enjoy a long period of freedom. But the road had battered him both mentally and physically.
He sometimes wondered why he had been in so much of a rush in the first place.
The Middle Brother
The middle of the three brothers also wasn’t overly fond of his particular road. But he neither had the strength nor determination of his elder brother. So instead, he tackled a few miles at a time. When he found his energy running low, he would follow a flight-of-fancy into the fields, or up a mountain.
Although these trips off the prescribed path lengthened the middle brother’s journey and cost him in terms of time, he found his joy refreshed and his stamina rebuilt with each extracurricular foray.
It was many years after the elder brother, that the middle brother reached the end of his road. He had less time to enjoy his new freedom, but a little more energy.
The Youngest Brother
The youngest brother was much slower and more deliberate than his elders. In fact, he loved to hike. So instead of looking at the road as a destination, he saw the path as a journey. He spent countless hours leisurely walking down that road. He noticed each and every tree, each and every splinter in the concrete.
He felt no need to hurry. He felt no interest in pursuing a side path or other flight-of-fancy.
When the youngest brother reached the end of his road, he did something odd that neither of his older brothers could understand.
He turned around and started to walk back the way he came.
Which Brother Are You?
You see, when I started this journey to financial independence, I thought I was the eldest brother.
But after a little reflection , I actually have more in common with the middle brother.
And now that I have reached FI, I wish I had been like the youngest.
I will definitely teach my children to be the youngest.
Oh, and by the way, don’t forget each time to replace the road in the story above with the word career.
Can I be a cross between the older and younger please?
Yes you may!
Same. Used to be the eldest and now the middle. Love these fables.
For some reason, that is where my mind keeps going!
Hello Doc G!
I love this story and wanted to use it as an discussion starter in a presentation of mine. Therefore, I wanted to ask you if you wrote this story or – if not – what your source for this article was.
I did write it. I’d be happy for you to use as long as you site my blog.
I think I’m the eldest, but I want to be the youngest. Probably means I’m in the middle. Cool illustration.
As time goes on, I wish more and more that I had been the youngest!
I used to be the oldest, now I’m the middle brother. Working on becoming the youngest one. 😉 Will definitely teach my kids to be the youngest brother.
I’m at a similar place.
I’m 33. Grew up in poor-middle class. I find that I am the oldest on my journey because well I have never had much without working for it. Now that I’ve seen the fruits of working I want to be ‘there’ as fastest as I can. I fantasize about being the youngest but it’s not affordable for me. I wonder if we want our kids to be the youngest because we are actually more affluent then our parents and can offer them that opportunity if they were ever to get in a financial rut. I think the middle is always the safe course to not be too risky but still enjoy.
Very true. Sometimes the middle road is best.
Such a great analogy. You posted this article on a comment I made to the ChooseFI group and I just wanted to thank you. I would have to say I am a lot like the older brother, plodding away right now with my goal set before me, but I try not to lose sight of all the fun and beauty along the journey, too. Great way of looking at the journey to FI!
This allegory continues rot o be my best way of understanding career goals and the path to FI. Thanks for reading.
My father was like the youngest brother. He loved being a mechanic and worked on cars in our garage all evening after his day job. But when he went to retire, mechanics were replaced by electronics. For a while, he continued by purchasing a troubleshooting kit for a particular model of car, which he specialized in. But it had fundamentally changed some of the things he loved most about his tinkering. So he moved on to gardening.
The point being that even if someone absolutely loves their work, in today’s world, things change quite quickly. A pursuit of FI gives options. You never know when you might change into another brother.
Very true. Your path may change.
What an inspiring post, and to which I can relate.
When I started my FI journey, I was employed as an engineer working on underfunded projects with tight schedules. I guess this put me in a scarcity mindset, as everything was urgent, I couldn’t delegate much and often had to fix others’ work before the situation escalated into bigger problems, the best tools weren’t available, etc.
I think this influenced my personal life, where I then began to reduce expenses, trying to save enough money to at least have ‘margin’ and not be dependent on a timely paycheck.
I’m still not sure where I got the inspiration, but I started exploring various opportunities to increase income in my spare time.
Eventually I built a business that let me earn more than my previous job and went full time in it. After a few months of completely replacing my previous salary, I started making growth projections, thinking in a few months I could earn much more, invest more, and would be free in a few years.
Then I reconsidered slightly, I knew without a doubt that I would have no trouble working 50 hours weeks, while doing work that I mostly enjoy and having an interesting social life. The few tens of thousands more I could earn each year would likely require 70+ hours weeks, where I might eventually burn out… or at the very least, I will likely hate the business after a few years of such involvment.
It’s even harder as the owner because I can profit handsomely from my hard work and good decisions (or I could also be a lousy manager and ruin everything), and there’s no one to stop me from doing more.
I’m still trying to balance quick results and enjoyment of the path… I don’t want to be exactly like the older brother and sacrifice my youth and health. But again, we never know how the market or technology will change, and some valuable skills today might no longer be needed in a few years…
So I keep up to date with the skills required to operate my business, and reinvest in it for some growth. But also don’t want my life to revolve around it, so I divert most of the earnings to other more passive investments when I get a chance. The longer I can keep at it, the smaller my financial risk will be.
Hopefully I won’t have to go back to getting a job, unless I find a new challenge that I will enjoy! Actually I will probably, sooner or later, work on something else; something that I like, at my pace, and not because I need the money but rather as a challenge.
And the path can change throughout life. I have taken each path at different times in my life. I think the key is being aware and making thoughtful choices.
Lovely post! I think too many people in this ever-growing FI community are turning into the oldest brother, racing towards the finish line to reach FI by some ridiculously young age. Some people don’t realize that it’s not a competition and that everyone is on his or her own unique journey.