The Mexican Fisherman
A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist
complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and
asked how long it took him to catch them.
"Not very long," answered the Mexican.
"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the
American.
The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his
needs and those of his family.
The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta
with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my
friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs... I
have a full life."
The American 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?" asked the Mexican.
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?" asked the Mexican.
"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.
"And after that?"
"Afterwards? Well my Friend, That's when it gets really interesting,"
answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big,
you can start selling stocks and make millions!"
"Millions? Really? And after that?" said the Mexican.
"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."
And the moral is:
Know where you're going in life...you may already be there.
Very interesting blog, Marianne! It clearly pictures two very different attitudes towards life. I understand both of them... different values, different philosophies... perhaps the two are right, as much as each follower feels happy...
ReplyDeleteit gripped me immediately I saw it, a friend forwarded it as part of her Daily Inspirational Readings, I can so identify with it, at the moment we are working and working towards our retirement, but wonder, will we be able to enjoy it, once we get there, should we not maybe sell up and go now, a small hut on the beach would do me. ...................Mwah
DeleteI love this story!! Hugs you!! ♥♥♥
ReplyDeleteHugs you back, darling Benni.
DeleteI am already there - what a lucky person I am. I just jumped the bit with the millions, who needs them????
ReplyDeleteexactly, who needs millions, when we have enough to get by. *smile*
DeleteAll things that really matters in life, are free.
ReplyDeleteand that is also so very true, Amalie. Hugs.
Deletei remember reading this somewhere earlier...
ReplyDeletebut its the photograph at the bottom that went hmmm over...its really good marianne...
Thank you sonny, yes the words of course is not mine, I got an inspirational email via a client that day, but they spoke to me, as we have lately discussed the ways of being able to retire and what we would do, how to live, where to go, sell or not to sell etc
DeleteThank you for liking my fisherman, he was snapped (believe it or not) on our Honeymoon Night, I saw him standing at the edge of the dam as the sun was setting and I remembered a photograph that Joel had once posted of a fisherman on a lake with the mist and I simply had to shoot this. I took about 5 but this was the best. Russell upset? OH yes, but not at what you might think, *winks* no, he was wailing about not having his fishing rods and gear with and wanting to chat to the guy to see what he had caught and with what etc .................. and ............then I got upset *grins*