Once upon a time in a land far away, there was a small village. This village had a strange tradition. Each spring, any boy that had reached the age of majority was given a plot of land and bag of money to build a home. The boy had to complete his home before winter. If his home failed to withstand the winter weather, the villagers could not help him in any way. The villagers believed if a boy couldn’t build a solid home, he’d be a liability to the village.
One spring, two boys, Paul and Marc, reached the age of majority. Both Paul and Marc received their land and money and decided to search nearby villages for ideas on building their homes. In each village, they found the nicest homes and talked to the owners. Each owner gladly offered advice and then identified other great homes in surrounding villages.
After Marc saw several homes, he gathered the best ideas and went back to his own land.
Paul, on the other hand, continued searching other villages and homes for more ideas. Soon he had so many great ideas he began to forget some of them. But he always believed he could find even better ideas in the next village.
Marc began building his home. He had several false starts, but his home gradually rose from his land. By fall, Marc finished his home. It wasn’t perfect, but it was strong and he could improve it later.
Paul enjoyed all the beautiful homes and conversations with home owners. The first snow came and Paul, realizing he was running out of time, rushed back to his land. He built the best home he could in the time he had, but it was weak. The first winter blizzard collapsed his home and he froze to death. The villagers mourned their loss.
Marc survived the winter. Each spring, Marc searched for other good ideas he could use to improve his own home. He was never afraid to tear down what he’d already constructed to make room for improvements. He became a leader in the village, raised a family, and lived a happy, content life.
Knowledge is only potential power. It becomes power only when, and if, it is organized into definite plans of action and directed to a definite end. - Napoleon Hill
Moral: We all build and improve our own mental homes. It’s easy and fun for us to search for ideas (in books, blogs, and so on) from other mental home owners, but we only improve our own mental home if we actually apply the best ideas. Otherwise, we eventually die no better off than when we started our search.
Are you more like Paul or Marc?
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Tags: Habits, Parable, Psychology
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hi Roger,
Interesting fable. I used to be like Paul I think, and then realised I had to be more like Marc. Take blogging - I could have researched more but jumped in anyway and have been tweaking ever since! If I started over I would do it differently based on what I’ve learnt, but I wouldn’t have learnt if I hadn’t jumped in first.
Nice food for thought here!
Daphne,
Thanks!
I agree. You’ll learn faster by making little mistakes, learning, and then improving.
Hi Roger,
What a great story. I guess I am more like Marc. I do shop around for ideas and plans, but it comes to a point where you have to do something. Like my blogs, I just jumped in and started off. I am constantly tweaking here and there to improve things. I am a software developer and we have a term called Continuous Integration, which basically means constantly improving to get the next version working and stable. The same could be applied to other aspects of our lives.
Garry,
I’m a software developer also and I think Continuous Integration is a great analogy! I also like the analogy with agile programming processes (XP, Scrum, and so on) which require rapid delivery and feedback.
Great story! I am too much like Paul, too often — I get paralyzed by the infinite possibilities and the urge to do something perfect right from the start. Good for me to read this Monday AM.
Regina,
Thanks!
Our desire to do something perfect or fear of failure can easily keep us from starting. The fact that you mindfully recognize your desire for perfection helps.
Hi, Roger! I love this fable… I love that you used a fable to communicate this message. This used to be the preferred method of teaching and, somewhere along the line, we took out the magic of learning in favor of cutting to the chase: what’s the bottom line? Stories are so much more powerful and memorable than bullet points.
As for Paul and Marc… I was always a Paul: I enjoyed the learning process, and the adventure of discovery, but dreaded the implementation (for fear of failure, no doubt.) But ever since I adopted Marc’s strategy of starting something and improving it as I go along, life has been infinitely better.
Thanks for a great post!
Great story; makes your point beautifully.
I used to be a real Paul and I liked it - all the learning and discussing. But then it became disappointing because nothing ever happened.
Then I developed into a Marc. Learn, discuss, try; learn, discuss, re-do, try; learn, discuss, change, re-do, try… This is way more fun (although at times frustrating) but I learn so much more and now have more to share.
@Lisis: Thanks! I wasn’t sure how readers would respond. I got the idea of using a story format from Gywnn at Serene Journey. He wrote a story about canoes and financial management.
@Laurie: I’m glad you liked the story. I have a friend, Clif, who sometimes uses the term “fail fast”. His idea is to try new ideas quickly and either succeed or fail quickly.
Hi Roger,
Awesome post! I love the quote of Napoleon Hill too. He is one of my favorites.
Life is all about learning but you need action too. I used to get really frustrated in high school that we were taught things that we really could not implement. Like algebra…I have never used in algebra at all as an adult. Education is powerful only if you use what you learn. Sometimes, like your story, you have to tear down what you created because you learned a better way…there is nothing wrong with that because that shows growth. Stagnation is never good.
Nadia,
Thanks!
I learned many useless thinks in high school and college. However, I do use algebra for writing software.
It’s scary but sometimes necessary to tear down the mental houses we build.
Hi!
I enjoyed reading the story I think I should share it with my friends. I’ll invite them to visit this site.
Anyway, I believe my personality is more of marc. I am willing to commit mistakes and learn in the process. I think it’s part of life.
greetings from manila!
sterndal,
Welcome and I’m glad you enjoyed the story!
You have a great attitude about being willing to commit mistakes to learn. I think it’s the best way to learn.
A beautiful and well written story, Roger! It really makes a powerful point.
I think I’m most like Tim. Tim wasn’t actually included in your story, but he’s the guy who’s so eager to get started and to be creative that he doesn’t spend enough time learning from the success of others. Even so, he’s happy to learn by direct experience and is reluctant to change his ways.
It’s shameful, but I didn’t even start reading personal blogs until after I started my own. I was afraid of being overly influenced by what others were doing. I’ve been known for reinventing the wheel and doing things the hard way. But I insist that it’s doing things the fun way.
My wife, on the other hand, is more like Paul - always gathering information to the point where it inhibits action.
Together, we’re like Marc. I often know what’s going on in the surrounding villages through her.
Micheal,
Thanks for your thoughtful comment! I like Tim - I think he has a chance of discovering things that nobody has thought of. It sounds like you and your wife make a great team.
It took me awhile to recognize that fellow bloggers were part of a greater community. You and other blogger like you are such a creative bunch that I’m learning new things all the time. I feel a synergy that’s exciting.
Fables are awesome! It always struck me how many people turn self-help into “shelf-help” (whoever came up with that term is a genius). Why do you think we have this tendency? My theory is that it’s a necessary stage but one that some can get stuck in due to fear or whatever.
Albert,
“Shelf-help” - I like that.
The best seller list usually contains at least one self-help or diet book. If most of those books were actually helpful, wouldn’t we all have great physical and mental health?
Very effective and insightful fable Roger.
I agree with Lisis is that we have lost or forgotten the art of storytelling. You can pack some very powerful messages in stories and each generation will learn differently either from a child’s perspective or a grown-ups perspective. Moral messages are still being conveyed.
At times I am a “Tim” as well Michael..always eager to start right away but I have learned to at least try to be more like Marc whenever I can.
I wish I could have been blogging while I was in Vietnam the past 5 weeks but I’m glad that I’m back now.
Vincent,
Thanks and welcome back from Vietnam!
You and Michael are starting to convince me that I need to add “Tim” to the story.
I have a bad habit of being Paul sometimes.
David,
I suspect we all act like Paul sometimes.
Great blog this one! I love the theme and essence of the blog. Pretty much that’s the essence of my blog as well but I realised it only after reading your blog.
Coming to this story, I guess, luckily, I’m Marc. For all my thoughts and philosophy, I’m not a dreamer. I know that the body has to be kept happy for the mind to flourish.
Welcome and thanks! I just checked out your blog and subscribed.
There is definitely a strong connection between the mind and body.
Thank you for the welcome back Roger
I am looking forward to your next fable.
I like your style, if only school was more like this! When did we lose the idea of teaching through example, or story telling. Today’s society is focused too much on force feeding children information, rather than making them curious and thirsty for knowledge. if only we made kids want to learn, rather than making it seem so very imposing by making it mandatory to learn about everything. I think I’d hake to agree with Michael, I’m more of a Tim, a very Kinaesthetic learner. I tend to do best using just my own solutions to a problem rather than being told the current strategy. This is mainly due to my innate ability to find an alternative that works better in most cases.
I really needed to read this today. Thanks!!!