The Golden Goose
Do you have a Golden Goose? Believe it or not you actually do.
I recently read this below article written by Ali Abdaal (a YouTube productivity “influencer”) and thought it was perfect to share with you during this time of year. As we head into the holidays and start closing down 2022 it’s a great time for us to start reflecting on where we are doing well in our lives and where we can use some improvement. All too often we neglect to take care of the areas of our live that produce us the most return. Our health, our family, our sales routines ect… and because of that, we inadvertently kill the golden goose. So as you look toward 2023, spend some time planning and reflecting for the year ahead and think about how you can invest in the areas that create the most return and care for the goose that provides you the golden eggs.
The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs: by Ali Abdall
This fable is the story of a poor farmer, who one day discovers, in the nest of his pet goose, a glittering golden egg […] Much to his surprise, the egg is pure gold!
The farmer can’t believe his good fortune, and he becomes even more incredulous the following day when the experience is repeated. Day after day he awakens, to rush to the nest and find another golden egg. But with his increasing wealth comes greed and impatience. Unable to wait day after day for the golden eggs, the farmer decides he will KILL the goose and get them all at once.
But when he opens his goose, he finds it empty. There are no golden eggs. And now there is no way to get anymore. The farmer has destroyed the goose that produced them.
I remember this story from years ago, when my mum would read me Aesop’s Fables. But I have a new perspective on it now, as an adult, thanks to reading 7 Habits.
It’s all about effectiveness.
Most people focus on ‘golden eggs’ when thinking about effectiveness. Producing impressive short-term outcomes (money, social prestige, or enjoying life to the max). But as the fable shows, and as Stephen Covey writes about in the book, true effectiveness is a function of two things: what’s produced (the golden eggs) and the producing asset / capacity to produce (the goose).
If you adopt a pattern of life that focuses on golden eggs but neglects the goose, you’ll soon lose the asset that produces those golden eggs for you.
I find myself doing this way too often with my physical body.
I think: ‘work is fun, let me just do some more work, as I’m on a roll. I don’t need to go for a run today, or go to the gym, or eat something healthy. Who cares if I skip a workout? I’ll just do it tomorrow… ’
The problem here is that I’m optimizing for producing more golden eggs in the short term (writing, videos, etc). But I’m neglecting my production capacity - in other words, the physical goose that makes all that possible. Use a machine all the time but never maintain it, and it’ll eventually break. You need basic maintenance to get good long-term results.
Side note - Obviously, I’m not implying that the only benefit of a healthy body is that it helps drive economic production. Just thateven if you’re optimizing for economic production (the eggs), it still makes a lot of sense to take care of the goose.
Notes that Resonated
2 Corinthians 4:16 Do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day
As a person thinks, so he is. Proverbs 23:7
Be like Jesus: 7 Things You Didn’t Know About Jesus’ Personality | Beautiful Outlaw | The Personality of Jesus - Beliefnet
Things read:
This NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER takes a unique approach to designing you best life. As we bring 2022 to a close it’s a great time to start planning forward and this book does a good job reframing your thinking to where you want to go and who you want to become. (Thanks for the recommendation Brian)
Podcasts listened to:
Appreciating the sweet bitter of life: To know what good feels like you have to know what hard feels like https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-bit-of-optimism/id1515385282?i=1000586229235
Videos watched
Interesting investment concept and how to leverage raw land
“Land hacking” https://youtu.be/kLi26v-av4U
Top Quotes:
"Power is influence over external events. Peace is influence over internal events." - James Clear
Worrying is like a rocking chair it gives you something to do but doesn’t get you anywhere. -Emma Bombeck
If it’s not inspected it will be neglected -Jacko
Drinks:
Can head into Thanksgiving without an interesting cocktail. Pumpkin Pie martini. I have not tired it yet but I didn’t want to wait until after thanksgiving to send this out. It sounds decadent but worth a try 😊
https://anothercocktailblog.com/pumpkin-pie-martini/#tasty-recipes-83758-jump-target