Been a long time since I’ve written on here but I have been wanting to get back into writing and this story has been on my mind lately and is a good way to slowly move back into the routine of writing to whoever finds this post. I will paste the story i want to talk briefly about below, along with a vow to attempt to write more regularly to whoever wants to read.
The parable
An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, “only a little while.”
The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish?
The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.
The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.”
The American scoffed. “I have an MBA from Harvard, and can help you,” he said. “You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, and eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middle-man, you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening up your own cannery. You could control the product, processing, and distribution,” he said. “Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, and eventually to New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”
To which the American replied, “Oh, 15 to 20 years or so.”
“But what then?” asked the Mexican.
The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time was right, you would announce an IPO, and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions!”
“Millions – then what?”
The American said, “Then you could retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with your amigos.”
Application
This story has always meant a lot to me as a young man who aspires to take over a good sized business in the future. While the idea of running a business and making lots of money has always been a dream of mine, this story has always helped me ground myself. Its easy when you can control your destiny to try to push the business to its limits and grow and expand until your making more money than you can spend, BUT this story helps me remind myself that this business should not be a push to get to the finish line, rather a way to make money AS you live your life and enjoy your family and the things that actually make life worth living. Always remember that time is your ultimate competitor in life, not poverty, not your neighbor who has the nicer car than you, etc.
That is really all, I have some really fun philosophical ideas I want to write about in the near future but a nice easy to understand applicable story was a good way for me to get back into it.
Don’t forget, life is demented and twisted but at the same time it is so beautiful.
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