Recently I’ve been studying Taoism.

It’s like the Eastern version of Stoicism, with plenty of great life lessons. Three months ago, I read a short story that stuck to me like glue.

It’s the perfect analogy for success as a writer and entrepreneur.

I figured you might enjoy it.

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It 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 apologised, explaining he did not 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.”

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This story reminds us of an easily-forgotten truth:

The power of small efforts over a long timeframe.

When we’re stuck in a shitty situation, it’s easy to fall into despair. To normalise 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 every day if you want to change your circumstances.

I can only say this from personal experience.

I found writing during COVID when I had the time to explore my curiosity (dentists couldn’t see patients for several months).

I fell in love.

But as the world returned to normal, I returned to working two jobs—6 days a week. Only now, I wanted to be a writer. So I made a pact:

Every morning before work, I wrote for two hours, and I gave myself two years to judge the result.

It took 13 months to hit 1,000 followers and 18 months to make one dollar.

But month 24? I hit my first $20k month.

More importantly than money: When I felt like I was OK at writing, I quit dentistry to go all in.

Now I get to write 4-6 hours a day, build my business, walk, read, and speak to interesting people. I’m incredibly grateful. During the early days there were many times I was exhausted.

If I’d have given up, if I had not put in the reps, I wouldn’t be here now.

Simple as that.

Here’s the truth.

Success is not about big bursts of effort. It’s about consistent effort. You must have a vision of your dream life and then drag it into reality, one day at a time.

So let me ask you:

Are you happy with your current position?

Do you have something you want to achieve?

Are you setting aside time to make it a reality?

If you want to enjoy the water, you must first dig the well.

Kieran