I believe that many people has heard this story before. I thought I should share this again to remind myself and reader.
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,” the American continued.
“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 investment banker concluded.
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 is 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?” asked the fisherman.
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.”
Original author unknown
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There are two sides to the story. One is that eventually we will all end up in the same simple state of living when old and weak. The other side of the story is that our life can as rich and full of experience or as simple as we want it to be. Do we want to live a simple life like that of the fisherman all our life or do you want it to be rich and full of experience as the Havard guy? I go for the Havard guy life experience anytime. When I have enough of living life, then I will go slow and be like the fisherman.
It’s like why people climb mountains. They climb up but eventually still need to descend.
Yes agree. Hazard is definitely for better those who can achieve it. However, for those who can’t, in the end they may not get either of the life. Life is usually grey isn’t it?