Chop Wood Carry Water: How to Fall In Love With the Process of Becoming Great

Sacrifice is essential in developing the discipline needed to fulfill one’s vision of success. In the opening paragraphs of the book’s extended parable, John’s brother, Jordan, is severely injured in a car accident: “The doctors said he would never again be able to talk, walk or feed himself” (5). By necessity, their shared dream of becoming samurai archers becomes John’s solo dream. John could have abandoned their dream but instead chose to pursue it alone. The loss of friends and family on the road to success is, according to Medcalf, part of the sacrifice required to commit to one’s craft. This is especially true if those people are contrary to one’s vision of success. For Medcalf, this meant cutting time with naysayers and distractions. For John, it meant leaving his brother behind and traveling to Japan alone.

In the extended parable, once in Japan, John has to give up talking to family in order to focus on his vision for success as a samurai archer: “During the first year ‘acclimation period’ apprentices are not allowed to speak with their family and friends” (14). In Medcalf’s recounting of his early years, he notices that his vision of success is not shared by others. In order to focus on his mental training and on building the life he wants, Medcalf is careful about who he spends his time with: “Most of my friends and family told me I was crazy. I had to block out a lot of noise from outside influences” (101). By sacrificing time with family and friends, Medcalf is able to spend more time reading and studying in order to develop the philosophy that would become the foundation of his consulting business. The parable reenforces Medcalf’s experience sacrificing social time with loved ones and strategically trimming negative influences from his life in order to fulfill his vision of success.

Furthermore, John has to work without compensation by chopping wood and carrying water for the community. Akira advises him to think of this work as if he is working for himself: “Each of us are building our own house. Sometimes you might think you are building for your school, your family, your company, or your team, but you are always building your own house” (9). In the final chapters, Medcalf demonstrates how he made social sacrifices in order to focus on success: “It’s never easy to spend less time with people you’ve been around for a while, but at some point you have to remember that you are the one who is building your own house” (102). These sacrifices, and others mentioned by Akira during the course of John’s training, enable him to streamline his focus, narrow his priorities, and fulfill his vision of success. For Medcalf, trimming away negative people is difficult but necessary, as it takes controlling one’s time and structuring a life around one’s mission to achieve success. Medcalf writes that “[e]veryone wants to be great, until it’s time to do what greatness requires” (104). For true success to be achieved, one must make sacrifices.