The Security Of Having Multiple Income Streams

Chinese pavilions are beautiful structures that typically consist of pillars supporting a roof that provides shade and shelter. There are no walls, so the combined strength of the pillars must be strong enough to hold up the roof.

Because there are multiple pillars, if any one pillar breaks, the other pillars could still be strong enough to support the roof, allowing the pavilion to continue providing shade and shelter. The more pillars there are, and the greater their size and strength, the more secure the roof is.

Financial security and income streams work the same way. Your income streams are the pillars that hold up the roof that is your financial security, providing you with shade and shelter from the challenges of life.

Many people today rely on only one income stream for their financial security: their job. While this may work if nothing drastic happens, it is risky. If you lose your job, your financial security collapses. There are no other supporting income streams that can keep you afloat. You may have savings but until you acquire another income stream (another job perhaps) your cash flow will be negative, with cash coming out and no cash coming in, which makes you financially vulnerable.

However, if you build multiple income streams, then if one income stream is taken away from you, or if you decide to willingly give it up, you still have others to prop up your financial security. This makes your financial situation more secure.

But it’s not just the quantity of income streams that matter, but also the quality. Just like a few very strong and sturdy pillars can be more reliable in holding up a roof than many weak and flimsy pillars, a few highly lucrative income streams can be more reliable than having many mediocre ones.

It is possible for sheer quantity to make up for quality, but for practical purposes it is more efficient to focus on building a few highly profitable income streams, rather than spreading your efforts too thinly and not being able to generate much money from many different sources. It takes significant work to build up an income stream that can produce a meaningful amount of money. Your time is limited, so unless you can delegate this work, it may be wise to focus on just a few.

Furthermore, for many income sources, growth can be exponential. You may see little to no profits in the beginning, but after a lot of work and persistence your income source may grow exponentially. That is why it may be more worthwhile to focus on just a few income streams you believe can really succeed so you can put in the amount of work necessary to build it up successfully and scale it into greater profitability. One first-rate income source can be worth several second-rate ones.

Even though you should be mindful of not sacrificing quality for quantity, you should also avoid doing the reverse and rely only on one source of income, even if that one income source is sufficient for the time being. Life is unpredictable, and that one income stream can be lost, leaving you with nothing to generate positive cash flow, resulting in the collapse of your financial security.

It is analogous to building a pavilion with only one pillar. Yes, that pillar may be strong and sturdy, and can be sufficient in supporting the roof, but if anything happens to that pillar, the whole structure comes crashing down.

However, if you build a pavilion the traditional way, with multiple pillars, then even if one pillar breaks, the others can still hold up the roof. This results in a stronger, more secure, and more durable structure. It is no coincidence that so many Chinese pavilions last for centuries, if not millennia.

Build multiple income streams. You don’t even need to have many, just a few quality ones will uphold your financial security even when unpredictable events occur and take away one or more of your income sources from you. As Benjamin Franklin once stated, “Failure to prepare is preparation for failure”, so do prepare alternative income streams. That way, if you happen to lose one income source, you still have others to prop up your financial security. You may be lucky enough to never lose any of your income streams, but if it does happen, you will be very thankful that you have others to keep you afloat.

Just like how Chinese pavilions with multiple pillars are strong, secure, and durable structures that last for centuries if not millennia, your financial security built upon the pillars of multiple quality income streams will also be strong, secure, and durable, and can last you your lifetime and even pass on to your children and future generations of your family.