The businessman 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 yellow fin tuna. The businessman 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 businessman then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish.
The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The
businessman 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 a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each
evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos; I have a full and busy
life, señor."
The businessman scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and I
could help you. 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; eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling
your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor and
eventually open your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and
distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and
move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City where you would run
your expanding enterprise."
The Mexican fisherman asked, "But señor,
how long will this all take?" To which the businessman replied,
"15-20 years." "But what then, señor?" The businessman
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, señor? Then what?" The
businessman said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing
village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a
siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could
sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."
The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "Isn't that what I'm
doing right now?"
SUCCESS
We live in a world in which being successful is everything. Success is measured
by power, popularity, control, achievement, and winning. Having more and being
more is success. The businessman measured success by the accumulation of wealth
and by living a plush life.
"The person with the most toys
wins" is a fitting motto.
The businessman encouraged the fisherman to accumulate "toys," too.
"Buy a bigger boat," then "buy several boats," and
eventually buy a "fleet of fishing boats." The businessman claimed
all this would lead to power and status when "you would sell directly to
the processor and eventually open your own cannery."
Patiently the fisherman listened and then asked an intelligent question, "how
long will this all take?" To which the businessman replied, "15-20
years." There’s danger in waiting to live the life that you really want to
live. Like the businessman, we can easily spend forty years climbing to the top
of the financial ladder only to find it is leaning against the wrong wall. We
didn’t address life issues about faith, contribution, success, suffering, or
love.
Possessions and wealth are not enough. While comforting,
wealth cannot fulfill. Benjamin Franklin was of the opinion, "Money never
made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants.
Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one." Wealth may momentarily help us
to escape emptiness; it cannot cure it.
The fisherman had a specific view of a life well
lived. "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta
with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and
play guitar with my amigos." To be as specific as possible helps to
succeed in living a good life. His little way made, for the Mexican fisherman,
a "full and busy life."
The businessman accumulated money to support his
retirement. It was wise to plan for the future. Yet, what sort of life was he
living in the present? The businessman was so future-oriented he hadn’t taken
sufficient time to question what the future looked like. The businessman was
living for what the Mexican already enjoyed—a simple life well lived.
Ralph Waldo Emerson defined success in a simple
life well lived as:
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of
intelligent people and affection of children; to learn the
appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of
false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in
others; to leave the world a little bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social
condition; to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
People have different opinions when it comes to Success . Happiness or riches? but who says you can't have both? Happiness is ultimate, Bread is very important but above all, Trust God.
