An American businessman was on vacation in a small coastal Mexican village when he saw a fisherman dock his small boat with several large fish.
The businessman complimented the fisherman on the quality of his catch and asked how long it took to catch them.
“Not long,” the fisherman replied.
The businessman then asked, “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?”
The fisherman said, “I have enough to support my family’s needs.”
The businessman asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, and stroll into the village each evening to sip wine and play guitar with my friends. I have a full and busy life.”
The businessman scoffed, “I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you. You should spend more time fishing. With the proceeds, buy a bigger boat.
With the profits from that, you could buy several boats. Eventually, you’d have a whole fleet. Then you could cut out the middleman and sell directly to the processor. Maybe even open your own cannery.
You could move to Mexico City, then LA, maybe even New York City, and run your expanding enterprise.”
The fisherman asked, “How long will this take?”
“15–20 years.”
“And then?”
“Then you could sell your company and make millions!”
“And then?”
“Then you could retire. Move to a small coastal village, sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, and enjoy your evenings with wine and friends.”
The fisherman smiled and said, “Isn’t that what I’m doing already?”
Gabe’s note:
It’s not clear who wrote this parable, but it’s something I think about often.
It’s so easy for me to get lost in the grind of life. I’m working so hard, but for what? So I can eventually relax and have joy in my life. Grind now, be happy later.
But what if I could just be happy now? Find happiness in this moment? Be here now, instead of later.
I don’t think I want people to say I was an amazing businessman when I die. I’d rather them say I was present and lived life with joy as opposed to I made lots of money and had lots of stuff.