The Shawshank Redemption is the film that has had the greatest impact on me in the last twenty years. The film is based on "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption", one of the four short novels written by the master Stephen King in the collection Different Seasons. Already when the film came out in 1994, I was particularly touched not only by the story, but especially by the personality of its hero Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) and his friendship with Red (Morgan Freeman). Did the film influence me to the point of setting off six years later in search of financial independence, or was it my already independent personality of the time that found itself in this story? A bit of both certainly. Today in any case I can watch this masterpiece with as much pleasure as ever, and the impression of still drawing valuable lessons from it.
The Shawshank Redemption is characterized by four main elements:
- the very particular environment in which the characters evolve (the prison system) which shapes them in its image
- hope
- time, both friend and foe
- and finally the extraordinary personality of Andy Dufresne.
These four elements are closely related, each influencing or being influenced by the other. In many ways the film and these four themes have surprising similarities to the path to financial independence.
The prison system
The Western way of life, despite all the freedoms it offers, also chains its individuals, by the need to consume, and therefore to work in order to have the means to spend. lab rat race And Plato's Cave Myth, are two metaphors that can be applied to the capitalist system and in which individuals are prisoners. It is very difficult to get out of the system, not so much because of the physical barriers, but especially because of the psychological conditions that have been established there.
"For forty years I asked permission to pee. I don't take a drop if I don't ask," Red claims in Shawshank Redemption. Even simple physiological needs in Shawshank are beyond the control of individuals, to the point that once free, they are unable to satisfy them on their own. Is the capitalist world so different? Is it possible to eat, drink, wash, do one's little needs, and even fuck, without resorting to McDonald, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestle, Colgate-Palmolive, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, L'Oreal, Danone, Reckitt Benckiser and many others...?
"These walls have a strange effect, at first you hate them, then you get used to them, and you end up needing them, that's what being institutionalized is," explains Red. Getting up every morning to go to work, sweating or having butterflies in your stomach instead of your employer, all that to have enough money to queue at the supermarket checkout on the weekend, it's not very rewarding. But since almost everyone does the same, it makes you feel safe. We set ourselves benchmarks by consuming the same big brands as everyone else. The "walls" of consumer society are very real, but no one can do without them anymore. As Red says, that's what being institutionalized is.
Hope
No dream can come true without hope. It takes a huge dose of belief in a better reality to push us through our daily lives and help us stay on track toward our goal.
"It is in a prison that music has the most meaning. We need it to not forget. Not to forget that there are places in the world that are not made of walls and stones, that there is something in us that they cannot reach, that they cannot touch, that is ours: HOPE. Hope is a good thing, perhaps the best thing. And good things are eternal." Andy Dufresne.
Only "extrinsic" independence must be acquired. Independence, the real kind, is innate. It is part of the personality and cannot be stolen. You just have to believe in it enough. Without his independence of mind and a hell of a lot of hope, Andy would never have found freedom. He would have died in jail, just as we could die locked up in our metro-work-conso-sleep shell. But if we have enough hope in us, then not only can we bear our dreary reality more easily, but above all we can even sublimate it so that it becomes better.
"I'm so excited I can't sit still or keep my mind on things. I think only a free man can feel that way. A free man embarking on a great journey with an uncertain outcome. I hope I can get across the border, I hope I can see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as I dream it is... I hope..." Red.
A free man who sets off on a great journey whose outcome is uncertain... This man is us who want to free ourselves from salaried work, consumer society and the parasitic State. It is us in search of financial independence. It is us, future rentiers who hope like Red that the Pacific is as blue as in our dreams.
With his big dose of hope, which allows him to overcome the worst experiences of everyday life, Andy Dufresne not only builds long-term projects, but above all he carries them out. As Red says, "Andy Dufresne crossed a river of shit and came out washed of everything". He crawled in the sewers among the excrement of other prisoners for hundreds of meters to be free. He endured as an innocent the horrors of the prison environment for twenty years to come out even stronger.
The time
In prison, time is the enemy. Andy has made it his friend.
"I remember saying it would take 600 years to dig a tunnel with that miniature tool. Damn Andy did it in less than 20 years. Andy loved geology, I guess it suited his meticulous nature. An ice age here, millions of years of mountains there. Geology is the study of strength and time. That's all it took. Strength and time... and a big poster. Like I say, in prison a man will do anything to occupy his mind. Andy's favorite pastime was carrying his wall around the exercise yard, handful by handful." Red.
While most would lament having so many years of deprivation of freedom ahead of them, Andy Dufresne took advantage of it to build a project for himself and to carry it out. Not only did it allow him to keep hope, but above all he ended up making his dream a reality. His independent, meticulous and persevering character allowed him to become, thanks to time, free not only in thought, but also in action.
The same goes for any external aspect of freedom, such as financial, professional or other independence. It doesn't happen overnight. It takes a lot of patience and endurance to stay the course and achieve your goal. But it's worth the effort.
Andy's personality
Hope, endurance, resistance, long-term vision, meticulousness... Andy Dufresne is a brilliant and extraordinary character.
"You don't put all birds in cages, their feathers shine too brightly when they fly away and the part of you that knows it's a sin to lock them up rejoices." Red.
Andy surrounds himself with a small circle of loyal friends on whom he can count on it, rather than being part of a big gang. He has a remarkable faculty of abstraction, which allows him to put into perspective the details of immediate reality, to better envisage the global images of things and their future possibilities. He prefers to base himself on objective and logical criteria rather than on social and/or passionate considerations. Finally, he is capable of making decisions and sticking to them by following his plan.
INTJ
Andy fits the psychological type INTJ (in English "introversion, intuition, thinking, judgment"), which is an abbreviation used in the context of the famous Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). This personality type is present in only 1.5% of the population (0.8% in women). They are people who are at once mysterious, curious, perfectionist, pragmatic and quick-witted. INTJs are the most independent of the 16 MBTI personality types.
Pragmatism
For INTJs, any new idea is good as long as it has a concrete application, that works in reality. They apply this principle constantly, which means that they easily question anything that does not work or that does not have any use in their eyes. This way of thinking engenders a rare independence of mind, freeing theINTJ constraints of authority, social conventions, sentimentality, trends, fashion, marketing, politics and all the influences to which human beings are subjected.
Independence of mind
INTJs can make important decisions without consulting their peers. Even though they are excellent strategists, they nevertheless willingly cede high positions in the hierarchy to others, who are more extroverted by nature. They like to stay in the shadows, while continuing to pull the strings. If they seek leadership positions, it is less out of a taste for managing people, than out of a need for power and especially freedom. They place great trust in their own vision of probabilities, without worrying about what others think.
Carry out projects
In INTJs, imagination and decisiveness manage to combine remarkably well. They can both conceive a brilliant plan and execute it. Nothing is impossible in their eyes. As soon as they start working on a new concept, they will consider it a moral obligation to carry the project out perfectly until its success. INTJs are thus described as "system builders". Their tenacity, reliability and punctuality thus distinguish them from INTPs, with whom they share independence, curiosity and liveliness of mind.
The character and his environment
It is sometimes said that one feels like a fish in water. Not that Andy was made for prison, quite the contrary, but his particular personality was made precisely for getting out of it.
We have seen that several comparisons can be made between the prison environment and the conditioning offered by the life of the consumer society. We have also seen that it is necessary to have a good deal of hope to believe in the success of one's project, as well as to use the obstacle of time as a resource.
"Hurry up and live or hurry up and die." Andy Dufresne.
The personality of the one seeking freedom, whether financial or otherwise, is essential. Freedom cannot be acquired if one does not already have it deep within oneself. Financial independence begins with independence of mind. INTJs and their cousins INTPs both possess these traits. But INTJs display more determination to see their project through to the end, which is necessary for such long-term projects.
And you, Do you have the same character traits as Andy Dufresne?
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Français
Very interesting, I immediately thought of the 80s movie Midnight Express, a movie about hope.
That said, fortunately not all jobs place us in this prison situation, and there is a possibility of escape, certainly relative in these times, but which does indeed exist in democratic countries: resignation.
The other possibility of escape is legal or planned retirement for those who have succeeded in becoming rentiers before their time. In all cases, we find hope, personal investment and perseverance as fundamental elements of any escape.
Happy financial year to all.
Patrick
Thank you. Of course, you can resign, and that's what I've done several times. You can improve your situation, find a job that allows you more autonomy, but if you are independent by nature, even with the best of employers, you will always be at odds with your values and personality. You can also exercise an independent profession, but you only exchange your employer with clients. It is certainly more rewarding and offers more freedom, but it is not yet independence with a capital I. The only way that allows it is financial independence.
I totally agree with just one remark when you are self-employed and on the condition of having a multitude of small clients, all independent of each other, everyday behavior changes compared to an employer: you are more ready to grovel to keep your job, because losing a client does not have a big impact on your income. Of course you have to be careful not to lose your clientele through casual behavior, but the relationship to work changes, on the condition of already having a good income. This is also the case for many French liberals crushed by taxes and charges who are starting to work less. I observe in my clientele a total relaxation of medical liberals who do not hesitate to close their office on Wednesdays in addition to the weekend. It is their financial independence that allows them to do this (they turn in France at 6000 euros per month which is already very high and well within the range of tax bludgeoning). My opinion to remain optimistic is that before becoming a rentier you have to practice a liberal medical profession if possible of high level which if, without going as far as my Geneva ophthalmologist who charges me 225 CHF for a 15 minute consultation (a disgrace), allows you to be serene in your head...
It is clear that in France, with the tax levy that exists there, there is no incentive to work too much... What is the point of sweating to pay for the escapades of senior civil servants and politicians...
Being a specialist doctor is a bit like being a pensioner from your degree 😉
Will you write me a dividend order please! Reimbursed by the SECU.
It seems that we are all already self-medicating :)
Don't talk to me about it, I'm addicted!
Good morning
This film is indeed very interesting. Jérôme puts his finger on something that really hurts the French. There should be an audit of the use of public money. Paying taxes is ok but then you have to know how to manage
ludovic
Hello, I come from the Happy Investor blog.
Your article is really great Jerome! Thank you.
Thanks Mathieu 😉