¶ Intro / Opening
Jack and the Beanstalk: Most fathers are not training their sons. What are the steps to come out of poverty?
Yeah, I'm good. Awesome. Okay. So What I want to do is, uh, I'm going to, I want to unpack the greatest business book of all time, in my opinion. And if you look throughout the world and try to find anyone else who thinks this is the greatest business book of all time, I don't, I'd be surprised if you find somebody else who thinks this, but I think this, um, this book is very short, it's like, it could be, it could be pulled on a single page.
It's like, man, C. S. Lewis said that someday as adults, you'll get old enough to appreciate fairy tales again. And I am entering that phase. I am appreciating fairy tales, uh, so much. Um, and, uh, why, why do I appreciate them so much? Um, because like a Joseph, Joseph Campbell says, fairytales are. Um, are things that have never happened and are always happening.
More on my, on like a sort of idea of, of, of hierarchies and symbolism. Um, it's a really helpful video, but, but then I realized everything I teach at family Inc. So those of you guys who are familiar with family teams, um, I coach about a hundred families. That are making the journey from, you know, sort of normal employment into asset building.
And when people would deviate from the patterns, they would oftentimes not be as successful. And the ones that really stayed close to the path kept, kept succeeding. And I was like, man, we, I got to really study this. So I spent a lot of time studying it. And then we created the course, and I began to coach, and I started seeing this affect other families.
And so it's really important to read fairy tales to your children and not necessarily explain what they mean, but it's, I think it's actually really valuable as adults. To understand what they mean. Kind of like what C. S. Lewis says that there's sort of like two phases of appreciating fairy tales.
We're way in poverty. Are you ready for this? Yeah. And Sydney, you're, you're probably excited for the day when you get to enter poverty with your future husband. Oh, I'm so excited. It's going to be so awesome. Can't wait. So I want to help you guys understand Jackson, how you can lead your family out of poverty since you just entered into it.
Um, and, and try to understand with me, the symbol is I'll unpack what, what I'm seeing happen in this story and how this could apply to a family today. So if you're listening to this and you know, you're like, ah, I'm really struggling financially. As a family, please listen to this whole podcast. Let's let us walk you through the steps because they're going to come out of this story.
On his way to the market, carrying a heavy heart about selling the cow, Jack encountered a mysterious old man. The old man offered to exchange the cow for some special magic beans.
There's thousands of ways the story has been told, but it has all the same basic elements. So the elements are what's important. And so the elements start with, it's a widow and a son. And so the importance of that is to understand that Jack does not have a father. And so a lot of what creates poverty is, is not having a father.
Um, what are the steps to getting to a place of abundance as a family? And so if you don't have a father who has taught you those steps and is walking down that road with you, then you find yourself a son of Jack, you know, like my son, Jackson, who does have a father, by the way, but who does want to help him lead him out of poverty.
I hate saying that word subsistence. Okay. So they, they are, they are living, uh, at just the level of poverty. And the way the story starts is they're about to enter into extreme poverty where the chance of them not surviving will happen to them, right? Because, um, because milky white is no longer producing milk, they have to sell the cow.
So the wizard is, is a sort of symbolic way of talking about a sage or somebody who has wisdom and wisdom. That in its, in its basic form is so powerful that it can transform your life. Obviously there are no real wizards, but symbolically there are all kinds of wise people who understand things at a level that, especially for a child who doesn't really understand things at all, their lessons are like magic because they can completely change the way that.
Harry Potter. Yep. is fatherless. So if you, if you find yourself fatherless, what you need to look for is a wizard, a wise old wizard man. Luke Skywalker also. Yeah. Luke Skywalker. Also fatherless. Had to find a wizard OB one Kenobi. Right. So, so, um, because, because you don't have a father. To, again, walk with you out of, and train you out of these problems.
So that's what Jack is needing to encounter. And so that's why the fairy tale, again, this is a pattern of fairy tales are something that's never happened. But as always happening, every single, um, you know, person who goes and in search of a, of the wisdom, that's going to help lead them and lead their family out of poverty, whether you're, you know, crushing YouTube and trying to find a online course or whatever you're doing, you're looking for a wizard to give you a seed.
So, yeah, I'm curious, uh, Jackson, starting with you. Yeah. What does that feel like? What are your thoughts about that? Like that part of the, this, these steps in the process. Yeah. I mean, it makes sense. It's exactly sort of, I feel like we're, um, we were also the other, the other thing is in most fairy tales where that, that same thing happens.
It's like at some point, that epiphany, you know, Um, and then being able to sort of run with, run with that epiphany until you're trying to become financially stable. I think that's even, I feel like, um, I was even, I was reflecting a little bit, uh, in my, in the past when you, uh, I was trying to think of like when this whole construction journey for me started, because that's my trade and I was trying to think of, you know, and I remember I was like, When I was 15, I had a completely different idea of how my life was going to go.
I was like, okay I wonder what I can make out of this. And ever since then, I've been trying to make something out of that. And it's actually, you know, after seven years, it's actually starting to turn over a profit. I remember that, that epiphany of like, Oh, the trades. Oh, that's going to become really valuable in the future.
So. Yeah. I think that that's a part of the process is just understanding. Sometimes you have the beans and sometimes you don't, you can always find, I love the phrase, a father doesn't meet every need. A father sees every need is met. And one of the things that's really tough about this story is that the mother is unable to introduce Jack to the old man.
So, um, or that father is an evil dark Lord. So it's kind of nice that, uh, this is something that people have acknowledged. And I think it's so important for young men to know this because there are so many fatherless young men and then they think they need to do it themselves. Um, but I think it's, yeah, it's so good for them to know that, um, They, they do need someone to help them and it's okay to ask for help and to seek that out.
Not just with sort of placating them, but it's like, no, they're, they're great. It's going to be tough. Like you'll see really scary things in this fairy tale. Uh, but, but it does show them that there is a way out and it's really important for them to have that, um, that, that realization that there is a way out.
However, Jack's mother was greatly disappointed when he returned with the magic beans. Jack, what have you brought? Where's the money? These beans are magic beans that will change our fate. Magic beans? I'm so disappointed. They're worthless.
Upon reaching the clouds, Jack discovered a huge, mystical castle. The castle seemed to be from another world, radiating a fantastic and magical aura. Okay. Oof. So more details of the story, the plot thickens. Okay. So part of what happens is, and this try not to be offended by this, but one of the steps of the story is that when the boy comes home, the maternal doesn't understand the magic beat.
And so because there is no father involved, the mother sees that magic bean and she doesn't see what's happening. Um, she misses it. And so part of my experience is there is a pattern here. Again, it's not universal a hundred percent without exceptions. It's just, it's a pattern. And, um, I often, often in coaching men, they will, they will say, um, things like, you know, my wife doesn't understand why I keep basically looking for seeds.
So again, there are exceptions. This is a general pattern that often happens. And so that's the first kind of step of the symbology is that she, he comes home. Now the mother carelessly throws the beans out the window and the windows often symbolize sort of this transition that occurs in a story. And so it's like a portal and all of a sudden, so it goes out the window lands in, you know, and then all of a sudden you have this, and you know, the symbol of a portal, which is the beanstalk itself into a completely different dimension and to another world.
The cow was an asset, but it kept them at that very low level of, of assets of the subsistence level. Um, they needed, what Jack really needs is he needs the kind of wisdom, the seed that's going to provide a portal into a place that will actually help him solve his real problem, which is how do I build enough abundance for me and my mother so that we can escape the poverty that we're in right now.
Jack and the Beanstalk: Yeah, I mean, first of all, the point about, um, the, the risk tolerances between the genders or the maternal and the paternal kind of, I think that's so interesting. I can't even count the amount of times that I've had some brilliant idea, you know, And then I've gone to mom and I've been like, okay, listen, here's this genius idea.
And that's sort of where her brain goes. Um, one of the things I was thinking of is I think that like a pattern that I've noticed a little bit is in a, in a, um, like what the other thing, the biggest thing, the story is sort of conveying maybe a little bit is, uh, what I've noticed in a, in a families where there's relative comfort, maybe not wealth, but like relative comfort, it's the man that syncs to that standard and learns to be like, all right, I'll just be a penny pincher.
And you can kill the cash cow for an idea that's, you know, for a seed, you know, like that's ridiculous. So I think that's the, uh, yeah. So I, I think that in their poverty situation, it's crazy that Jack and I don't like, I can identify with his emotions. I can imagine being there at the market with the cow and being like, all we're going to get is coins.
Why did he take the cow? And I think that part of the reality is because Jack is fatherless, the old man actually requires payment. Or what he's about to give him. Now he will give him a way out and it is going to be very risky and it's still going to require Jack to climb the beanstalk and deal with what's up there.
Um, yeah, I was just thinking about like what other examples I've seen of this. And I thought of two at the top of my head from the Bible. Um, where the wives are like kind of confused by their husband's actions. And, um, I've been kind of fascinated by job lately, re fascinated. And that kind of happens in there when job is worshiping the Lord and all this stuff.
But this, this story does really focus on, on the masculine primarily because it assumes that it's the job of the masculine to solve the poverty problem for the family. So, okay. We're going to continue, see what's up. The bean stock. You guys ready for this? Jack sneaked into the castle and encountered the wife of the giant. The giant's wife looked at Jack Pityingly and said. Hide quickly before the Giant returns. He's a very frightening man. You could be eaten.
Hey. Okay. So a few, uh, major events occur in the process of trying to lead your family out of poverty. So you have to do the work of climbing the beanstalk and getting the seed, climbing the beanstalk. And then when you get up to this other place where the treasures are, you're going to encounter a few things in terms of patterns, okay?
And so that, that, those kinds of adults are really symbolized by the wife of the giant. So she's interested in hiding Jack. Um, and so every version of the story that the giant's wife is, is friendly and understands how much, how vulnerable Jack really is. And so this is a story that says, look, this is not safe.
And one of the things that happens when you're trying to get your family out of poverty is that there is a competitive nature to, to try to drive your family out of poverty. You're that, that if there's treasure anywhere, it's not going to just be handed to you. Sorry guys. Um, you're going to have to take it.
But the story always describes that there's a problem. Um, and that is when you go for the easiest kind of treasure to get, your family just ends up back where you started. Now you, you will have, you'll enjoy the treasure for a little bit. You know, the gold helped Jack and his mother for a while. Um, but it can't actually solve the problem.
So there there's a freedom business that, that helps the family immediately get out of an employment situation. And often I say that's like a service based business. You're still trading your time for money. It doesn't actually solve the long term problem, but it helps you kind of on the path. And so I would say that getting, just getting gold is sort of like that first step that I see people take when they're trying to get out of poverty.
You know, and it's like that's, um, I remember going in there and everyone was just like saying these big words I didn't understand and making the gravity of the room was like very serious all the time, you know, and yeah, it was all these tall masculine adults, you know, and I'm just like, Geez, like I don't, and I couldn't, I could never imagine being, I remember like I probably felt more incompetent in those situations I've ever felt in my entire life.
You know, it's like, it's not, it's not a, It's not the, it's not the harp, you know, that's just constantly like, you know, providing, you know, a lavish, you know, castle or whatever else that he's using. It's nothing like that, you know, these men are still playing the harps, but you can have, like, I'll give you a room for you to try to get something, you know, and I feel like I'm kind of in that phase right now where I'm getting like.
Um, you'll often encounter kind of a maternal force, right? Somebody who, who takes, who's like, oh, like really paying attention to you. Um, like a nurturing man or a, you know, a woman, um, who, who recognizes your vulnerability and your situation and is, is sensitive. Yeah. And thoughtful about, okay, what are you learning?
Um, or if that's at least one of their goals, like I, I know I can tell this when I play Monopoly with someone, I love Monopoly. It's like my favorite board game. And it's like, if someone is not going after the properties and they're just asking for money from everyone, I know that they're going to lose, even though they have thousands of dollars right now.
As the situation became desperate, Jack climbed the beanstalk two more times. On his second climb, he brought back a chicken that laid golden eggs. As the beanstalk fell, the giant crashed to the ground along with it. The earth shook with a great impact and the giant lay still, no longer moving. Jack sighed with relief. And his adventure finally came to a peaceful end.
Moreover, the magical harp filled their home with music and joy. The harp played beautiful melodies on its own, soothing their hearts. Thanks to the magical harp, Jack and his mother could enjoy art and beauty in their daily lives. They no longer suffered from worries and difficulties, living happily and contentedly.
I remember the first time I realized this. I was on a beach, um, in, uh, Daytona beach in Florida. And, um, Jackson, you were, I think recently born. Um, and I had bought on eBay a tape, a set of tapes by, um, Robert Kiyosaki, who, uh, eventually wrote Rich Dad, Poor Dad. And I was listening to these tapes. I was walking up and down the beach with my mouth was open.
Um, and if you don't do that, at least listen to the Jack and the beanstalk fairy tale and it's meaning you need to get the goose that lays the golden eggs. You need an asset that produces. And so we talk about this as the second kind of business, you get your freedom business, you know, you get, you get some amount of cash, some amount of freedom, but that's not going to get your family out of poverty.
That's symbolic of being able to do what you're passionate about. This is why the worst advice ever for people who are looking for employment is follow your passion. That's a, that's great advice for, People that are already, already have a goose that lays golden eggs. And if you listen carefully to the people who say, follow your passion, um, and that have been successful, they already have a goose that lays golden eggs.
The cash and the assets. Um, and so this is, this, this roadmap in Jack and the Beanstalk is so. . Um, yeah, it just, it's, it's so, uh, well described the actual journey and the tensions that are created. Um, and the thing that you have to understand is if you start to seize control of these assets. You are going to be in grave danger because the giant is coming after you.
And so there's a final part of the story. And again, we have a moment where the maternal is redeemed. Um, because in a lot of the stories, the, the mother actually is the one that chops down the beanstalk in this version of the story, she gets the ax for Jack who chops down the beanstalk and is able to. Uh, sever the connection between, um, between Jack and the giant and, um, man, I, those were some of the most difficult moments in my journey of trying to acquire assets because every time I began to really succeed, then whoever there, there was always somebody on the other end.
There's lots of ways. This is, I'm not describing something that I think is, is illegal. It's just, there's always, there's always a fight because again, treasure is people aren't, if treasure was easy to get. Then, you know, the, the story would be very different. You know, we would just go and, and, and pick it off the ground.
So yeah, Jackson, um, uh, other, anything else that this is starting up for you? This final chapter of the story. Yeah, I mean, first of all, I like the, when she, when the mom gives him the ax, I think that's the perfect example. It's like what she, uh, Her desire to protect the home is still strong, you know, and she's just yeah, it's like I can imagine in the same spirit The mom being apprehensive about them getting into this business Also knowing exactly when they're supposed to stop, you know um and I think that kind of makes it so that by the time they're able to begin enjoying this art and a lot of other Stuff like it's very important to You know, listen to the, the person that you might've had to like ignore initially.
¶ The greatest business book of all time
That's incredible. And then you just grab the wrong thing. First, you would have had to cut the tree that this whole beanstalk got instantly. And they would have been left with a, you know, a harp that plays and just makes them happy as they, as they, Die, you know, because he would have not any more access.
You need to get the treator chest and the, and the chicken first. That's right. The sequence is so important. And I think that's maybe the most brilliant part. Yeah. And the most surprising part, in some ways, I think of this is that all three are described in the sequences described. And those are the two things that I'm like constantly trying to articulate that I think so few people understand and I'm like, it's right here in this like old, old fairy tale.
And I think, I think that sort of maybe even drew her to the harp. Like I'm a, I'm in a place of, of stability. I'm a place of beauty. How can I maximize the experience of beauty that we're having in this house? And so she makes art and puts it all over our walls and she plays the harp and That is a direct result of these first two steps, you know, that of, of the, the years of, of, uh, doing battle with giants.
Really hard seasons and just sit back and listen to, at least to play the harp. Um, yeah, I'm just like, I don't want to be anywhere else. I am so happy. Um, it's incredible. So Sydney, what is this, uh, final chapter of the story starting out for you? Um, it just really inspires me. I feel like having that as your goal would probably help you get through the hard times of needing to acquire assets because it's so worth it to be able to live in that beautiful music and in that joy.
And so yeah, I'm really excited for that part. And I feel like, especially as a woman, I'm more like, I'm more excited for that part. Let's get to that chapter. So, um, yeah, I'm, I'm looking forward to going on that journey and it's going to be way more gratifying at the end of it when you need to go through all these steps first.
Like you, you got it, you know, do it in that sequence. No, no, no, no, not, not the harp. No, put it down. Go get the, get the goose. So, I mean, that's, I think that's, that's what I've, um, what I feel like. And then, because I want it to be yours. I want, I want you to have the experience of what it's like to, yeah, to have acquired those things.
And really what we do is two or three times a year. We basically, uh, open the beanstalk and say, who wants to join? And we'll, we'll go on this journey together and coach people to, uh, on the, the three step process of acquiring these kinds of assets and, um, and what that can look for, like for your family. So thank you, Jackson and Sydney for joining me on this, storytelling journey. Yeah, it was fun. Yeah. Thanks.