Many
of the things you can count, don't count. Many of the things you can't count,
really count.
~Albert Einstein
Mexican Fisherman
Meets Harvard MBA… What Really Matters in Life?
“A vacationing
American businessman standing on the pier of a quaint coastal fishing village
in southern Mexico watched as a small boat with just one young Mexican
fisherman pulled into the dock. Inside the small boat were several large
yellowfin tuna. Enjoying the warmth of the early afternoon sun, the American
complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish.
“How long did it
take you to catch them?” the American casually asked.
“Oh, a few hours,” the Mexican
fisherman replied.
“Why don’t you stay
out longer and catch more fish?” the American businessman then asked.
The Mexican warmly replied, “With this I have more than enough to
support my family’s needs.”
The businessman then became serious, “But what do you do with the
rest of your time?”
Responding with a
smile, the Mexican fisherman answered, “I
sleep late, play with my children, watch ballgames, and take siesta with my
wife. Sometimes in the evenings I take a stroll into the village to see my
friends, play the guitar, sing a few songs…”
The American
businessman impatiently interrupted, “Look, I have an MBA from Harvard,
and I can help you to be more profitable. You can start by fishing several
hours longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the
extra money, you can buy a bigger boat. With the additional income that larger
boat will bring, before long you can buy a second boat, then a third one, and
so on, until you have an entire fleet of fishing boats.”
Proud of his own sharp
thinking, he excitedly elaborated a grand scheme which could bring even bigger
profits, “Then, instead of selling your
catch to a middleman you’ll be able to sell your fish directly to the
processor, or even open your own cannery. Eventually, you could control the
product, processing and distribution. You could leave this tiny coastal village
and move to Mexico City, or possibly even Los Angeles or New York City, where
you could even further expand your enterprise.”
Having never thought
of such things, the Mexican fisherman asked, “But how long will all
this take?”
After a rapid mental
calculation, the Harvard MBA pronounced, “Probably about 15-20 years,
maybe less if you work really hard.”
“And then what,
señor?” asked the
fisherman.
“Why, that’s the
best part!” answered the
businessman with a laugh. “When the time is right, you would sell your
company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.”
“Millions? Really?
What would I do with it all?” asked
the young fisherman in disbelief.
The businessman
boasted, “Then you could happily retire with all the money you’ve made.
You could move to a quaint coastal fishing village where you could sleep late,
play with your grandchildren, watch ballgames, and take siesta with your wife.
You could stroll to the village in the evenings where you could play the guitar
and sing with your friends all you want.”
Where is the peace in “more is better”?
~Wayne Dyer
It is too easy to lose sight of what really
matters in life: the relationships, goals and passions that really deserve our
time and most precious resource of all, energy.
Don’t get caught up with the obvious and
focus on instant gratification or
grandiose goal …the meaningful is usually in the background building an everlasting…
To making sure we are chasing the right target...
RosieSandz
