It may be true that many who buy pickaxes won't find gold, but if you don't buy a pickaxe or make your own (as you did), you definitely aren't going to find gol

It may be true that many who buy pickaxes won't find gold, but if you don't buy a pickaxe or make your own (as you did), you definitely aren't going to find gold! Besides, the canonical Ruby book is the "Pickaxe Book." What other metaphor fits?