Source: e-mail sent to me
A boat docked in a tiny Mexican fishing village.
A tourist complimented the local fishermen on the quality of their fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.
"Not very long." they answered in unison.
"Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?"
The fishermen explained that their small catches were sufficient to meet their needs and those of their families.
"But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"We sleep late, fish a little, play with our children, and take siestas with our wives. In the evenings, we go into the village to see our friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. We have a full life."
The tourist interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."
"And after that?"
"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.
Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City , Los
Angeles , or even New York City !
From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."
"How long would that take?"
"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years." replied the tourist.
"And after that?"
"Afterwards? Well my friend, that's when it gets really interesting, " answered the tourist, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!"
"Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the fishermen..
"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends."
"With all due respect sir, but that's exactly what we are doing now. So what's the point wasting twenty-five years?" asked the Mexicans.
And the moral of this story is: Know where you're going in life... you may already be there.
There is a saying: Success is about fundamental. Happiness is a choice. Nothing is further from this truth.
ReplyDeleteGood one. I liked it. Thanks and appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThis philosophy in life only works in a tiny village in Mexico. In Singapore we have to work a life similar to what the tourist has envisioned, work our buts out, accumulate millions, then later in life, sleep late, play with our kids, catch a fish leisurely, take a nap, then spend time with friends at the pub.
ReplyDeleteIf we adopt that Mexican way of life, we would be starved to death
soon.
The problem in Singapore is that we work our asses off, but still cannot retire properly at 62 yr old. Maybe possible if people consider retiring in Malaysia, Batam or Thailand. I think many 40+ and 50+ people are still thinking of relying on their 1 or 2 kids to give them pocket money in the future.
ReplyDeleteIn SG, u need to work longer so that others can take "sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends"
ReplyDeleteI am looking at the most capitalist here...
you can criticise this view, but if you are a salaried worker working long enuff. you will know the truth.
To Anon 1057am
ReplyDeleteThe moral of the story has surely been lost on you.
Even in Singapore, we have a choice as to how hard we want to push ourselves. Of course if you so desperately desire to keep up with the jones' then of course you have no choice but to work hard and be stressed to pay for your bmw.
Life is so much more than material enrichment. When you die, you can't take it with you. And leaving a million bucks to your loved ones is not going to replace the time you could have well spent with them instead of doing overtime in the office.
I think it is always prudent to take a step back, and examine, what is truly important in life, and work towards it immediately.
I sincerely doubt that anyone's last thoughts on his/her death bed will be "I wish I made more money".
It's important to put food on the table and a roof over your family and even to educate your kids. But over and above that, everything else is transient. The car will be scrapped in a few years, the new watch will not be new tomorrow, the most fashionable handbag will not be fashionable next week.
Last but not least, in case you are still skeptical, why not ask yourself this question: How many days left do you have on this earth. If you can answer this truly, you'll be able to live your life to the fullest instead of being like the tourist in the story.
@Singapore Plebian
ReplyDeleteYou are truly enlightened....
I agree with S'pore Plebian
ReplyDeleteSome people confuse wealth with power. Both do not necessarily go together.
No time to watch the sunsets
No time to listen to crickets
No time even for taking care of babies!
Plenty of time to Q up for TOTO and LiveScore!
Plenty of time to sit in traffic jams
Plenty of time to look for a car park with shade!
I am glad I am not any of these.
Anthony Yeo Toon Yong's last wise words:
ReplyDeletehttp://createwealth8888.blogspot.com/2009/07/anthony-yeo-toon-yongs-last-wise-words.html
Anna Quindlen's Commencement Address at Villanova:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cs.oswego.edu/~wender/quindlen.html
The original story was between a Chinese Towkay and a Malay fisherman.
ReplyDeleteI supposed, the races have to be changed to avoid racial slur.
It's 5:35am in the morning now in Canterbury UK and I'm awaken by the birds chipping sound here and there :D
ReplyDeleteLater will go out walk walk with my wife & may shot some pictures.
I can't be a fisherman but one day I'll become a lecturer and enjoy my life doing what I like - learn maths and teach maths everyday day~
: )