Part 1: The Trident
In brief
You're going to take shit no matter what you choose. The question is how you want to be while you're taking it. The Trident — what you can do, what someone will pay you to do, and what you enjoy — gives you a framework. Build your Be-Do-Have plan from there. Most people never engage two of the three. Engaging all three is said to be Bliss.
Part 1: The Trident
This is a judgment to be made in the face of competing priorities. Not before you pick your path, and not something to be resolved before you start walking — the shit you'll take is a daily persistence test, with periodic shit storms resulting from nemeses and adversaries of all types and to all sorts of degrees.
Take the advice to fight with the Trident: What You Can Do, What Someone Will Pay You to Do (hopefully well), and What You Enjoy Doing. They say that engaging two of these edicts is more than most people accomplish. No matter the compensation, having all three is said to be tantamount to Bliss.
Allow me to simplify all that shit. If you're gonna take shit no matter what you choose — how do you really want to be?
Are you looking to sit on your porch and not see the neighbor? Do you want nightlife in the concrete jungle or nightlife on epic vacations? Do you want a simple life somewhere in between? More? Is your Bronx apartment your blissful place, or the shit you have to take to get your ass down to South Beach and live free at the end of that Trident? Is that Midwest town of your youth your origin story or your blissful resting place? Are you going to watch your great-grandchildren every day your heart holds out because you got the land, worked the land, taught your folk to carry on?
There are masters of this material whose shit is easy to read and can explain it in depth, but we all need a 2-4-8 Trident — also called a Be-Do-Have Plan.
In order: determine how you want to Be. Comfortable as a backcountry specialist in something like wells? Solar panels? Generators, maybe? Then map out what you have to Do to be able to Be that way. Finally, you'll be able to determine what you are going to need to Have — to Do the thing you need to Do, to Be the way you want to Be.
A good childhood friend decided he wanted his grandkids to have the kind of relationship with him that his grandfather had with him. To Be in the trades, or a vocational specialty, would allow him to afford a large family, always find good paying work, and build a solid retirement plan so he could enjoy his grandchildren. He chose Licensed Electrician as his Do, and the Have was easy from there: he needed tools and training.
Of course, there are all kinds of other little "things" and "relationships" in the Be bucket, but those are the little rocks you fit in around the big rocks. Check out the video of Steven Covey going over this. His Big Rocks, Little Rocks task management is the best, and could have been gloriously practiced by cave people for all we know.
Common questions
What is the Trident framework for life planning?
The Trident is three edicts held together: What You Can Do, What Someone Will Pay You to Do, and What You Enjoy Doing. Engaging two of those is more than most people accomplish. Having all three is said to be tantamount to Bliss.
What is a Be-Do-Have plan?
A Be-Do-Have plan starts with determining how you want to Be, then maps out what you have to Do to live that way, and finally identifies what you need to Have to do the thing you need to do. Order matters — Be comes first.
How do you know which life path is right for you?
The question isn't which path is easiest — you'll take shit no matter what you choose. The real question is how you want to be while you're walking that path.
What is a real-world example of the Be-Do-Have plan?
A childhood friend wanted his grandkids to have the relationship with him that his grandfather had with him. Being in the trades would allow him to afford a large family and build a solid retirement. He chose Licensed Electrician as his Do, and the Have — tools and training — followed from there.
What are the big rocks and little rocks in planning?
Steven Covey's Big Rocks, Little Rocks approach fits inside the Be bucket — there are all kinds of things and relationships that matter, but the little rocks fit in around the big rocks, not the other way around.
Is the Trident a daily practice or a one-time decision?
It is not something to be resolved before you start walking. The shit you'll take is a daily persistence test, with periodic shit storms resulting from nemeses and adversaries of all types and to all sorts of degrees.
Takeaways
- You will take shit no matter what path you choose — the only real question is how you want to be while you take it.
- The Trident holds three edicts: what you can do, what someone will pay you to do, and what you enjoy doing — engaging all three is said to be Bliss.
- The Be-Do-Have plan runs in order: determine how you want to Be, map what you must Do, then identify what you need to Have.
- Choosing a vocation isn't just about income — it's about whether it lets you be the person you intend to be for the people who matter most.
- The little rocks of life fit around the big rocks, not the other way around.
F. Tronboll III
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