29/07/2025
STORY TIME â¨đ
The Sewer Pipe to Freedom
I wrote this years ago, but the message never stops being relevant.
Itâs about purpose, comfort, and how our expectations can trap us.
đŻPicture this:
You're in prison. And your one true PURPOSE is simple â FREEDOM.
One day, a fellow inmate named Joe pulls you aside.
Joe: "Hey man, we found a way out of this hellhole. You can actually escape."
You: "Seriously? How?"
Joe: "In the west bathroom, behind the third toilet, the bricks are loose. You crawl through, and thereâs a sewer pipe behind the wall. Yeah, itâs filled with sh*tâbut if you make it through, youâre free. Weâre going tomorrow. You in?"
You: "Crawling through a sewage pipe full of crap? Thatâs disgusting. Iâve got bad knees. That canât be the way."
Joe: "Youâre not hearing me. THIS. IS. THE. WAY. OUT."
You: "I get it. But thatâs not how I imagined escaping. I was hoping for something cleaner. Like hiding in a bin of freshly laundered sheets."
Joe: "Dude, they wash everything onsite. Thatâll never happen."
You: "Oh⌠then I guess Iâll stay here. Besides, they feed us."
The Moral
Your unwillingness to embrace discomfort â to crawl through the metaphorical sewer â is exactly what keeps you trapped.
Youâre not waiting for an opportunity.
Youâre waiting for a comfortable one.
Youâre not seeking freedom.
Youâre seeking freedom on your terms â and life doesnât work like that.
This story came from a discussion where someone said their purpose in life was simple:
FREEDOM â to be free from scripted bu****it and live on their own terms.
That kind of purpose is powerful. Why?
Because itâs general, and when your purpose is general, every opportunity becomes relevant.
Even a sewer pipe becomes a doorway.
On the other hand, when your purpose is overly specific, you shrink your path.
"I want to be the worldâs best race car driver."
Cool. But when a sewer pipe labeled âfreedomâ shows up?
Youâll ignore it.
Why?
Because it doesnât look like a race track.
And thatâs the trap.
You reject valid paths to your goal because they donât match your mental picture.
So ask yourself:
Whatâs your purpose?
Is it broad, like freedom, growth, impact?
Or is it so specific that youâre unknowingly blind to the messy, uncomfortable doors that actually lead there?
If itâs the latter, reframe it.
Life-changing opportunity often looks like a sewer pipe, not a red carpet.
SoâŚ
Are you willing to crawl?
Or will you stay in the cell, comforted by free meals and waiting for perfect?
The choice is always yours.