The Parable Of The Mexican Fisherman - Be More With Less
There's a great little story I like to remind myself whenever I catch myself working too hard or feeling like I'm not achieving all that I want to do in life.
It's a Mexican parable from an unknown author that goes a like this. Enjoy.
The Mexican Fisherman and the Investment Banker (Author Unknown)
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,” he said. “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 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 was 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?”
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.”
I had remember this from 4 - Hour Workweek (Tim Ferriss) - It's basically we want is the lifestyle.
Excellent post dear friend @ luzcypher, a good teaching
Thanks. I always loved that story and have lived by the simplicity principle most of my life.
Terrific parable! A dose of humility is good for everyone. Life should be simpler.
Glad you liked it @donkeypong. Mexicans have some great stories to share as do many other cultures.
I've always loved that story!
@kus-knee (The Old Dog)
It's a good one.
Cool. I like it.
We should always enjoy the now and then it's siesta time all the time! NIce post.
Thanks. Siestas are only in the afternoon when it's the hottest part of the day. Most people stay up very late because it cools down at night. Some times you don't even go out to eat until 11pm, so a siesta is a welcome break after lunch.
Sometimes I feel doing the same in Croatia during summer.
"If you have a gun you can rob a bank
but if you have a bank you can rob everybody!" Bill Maher
That's actually a quote by Jim Truther and it's a good one
Do you mean Jim Marrs?
No, I mean Jim Truther
This was always one of my favorite stories... thanks for the reminder!