The Parable of the Pipeline

The Parable of the Pipeline was recommended to me by Senzi Dlamini, one of the people I truly respect in the field of Public Relations and Communications, he is also a pipeline builder in the property sector.

The Parable of the Pipeline is about how anyone can build a pipeline of ongoing residual income in the new economy. To think it was published in 2001 and still more relevant than ever, it renews my spirit with great awe.

This book is a personal finance and business book that aims to offer insights and strategies on how to create and accumulate wealth.

In The Parable of the Pipeline, the strategies have been unpacked through a fascinating parable of two ambitious young cousins named Pablo and Bruno.  They lived in a small Italian Village.

The parable goes like this, Pablo and Bruno were best buddies they spent most of their time talking about becoming wealthy and successful.

One day an opportunity arrived. The village decided to hire them to carry water from a nearby river to a cistern (more like big jojo tanks) in the town square.

Each man grabbed two buckets and headed to the river. By the end of the day, they had filled the town cistern to the brim. The village elder paid them one penny for each bucket of water.

“This is our dream come true!” Shouted Bruno. I can’t believe our good fortune.

Pablo wasn’t so sure, he didn’t want to carry buckets for the rest of his life. He vowed to think of a better way of getting the water from the river to the village. He presented an idea of building a pipeline from the river to the village to his buddy Bruno.

Bruno thought the idea was absurd and he told Pablo that he has a great job and not interested. However, Pablo didn’t give up; he built the pipeline during weekends, while working on his job…eventually the pipeline was finished and Bruno the bucket man carrier was out of work.  I guess we should thank Pablo for bringing taps to our homes.

Key lessons from the book

What would you do if your income stopped tomorrow?

Most people mistake bucket carrying for pipeline building.

Buckets no matter how big they are, will eventually dry up.

The day you stop carrying buckets, that is the day the money stops coming in (illness, injury).

Bucket carrying mindset vs pipeline building mindset

Pipeline building system (books, tapes seminars, goals)