story
The Tortoise and the Hare
The lesson that slow and steady can beat fast and complacent.
Origin
An Aesop fable. A hare, confident in his speed, mocks a tortoise for being slow. They race. The hare sprints ahead and stops to nap, sure of victory. The tortoise keeps walking and crosses the finish line first. The moral — usually translated as 'slow and steady wins the race' — has been quoted at children for two and a half millennia.
Modern usage
Standard in writing about compounding, investing, and career patience. Also used (often defensively) by anyone losing in the short run who would like to believe they'll be ahead in the long one.
In the wild
Index funds are the tortoise; stock-picking is the hare.— personal finance
Tags
patience
race
fable