Conventional thinking:  If I work very hard for 20-30 years and accumulate a lot of money some day I will be able to relax and enjoy life.

Contrarian thinking:  Why wait 20-30 years if I can enjoy life now?

There is a great fable about an American businessman who was taking a vacation in a small village in the coast of Mexico.  After a stressful call from the office he headed to the beach to clear his head.  He then noticed a fisherman coming onshore in small fishing boat bringing a small quantity of fresh fish.

The American businessman got a little closer and was amazed by the beauty of the catch.  He then complimented the fisherman and asked him how long it took him to catch the fish. 

“Just a little while,” the fisherman replied.

“Why didn’t you stay longer and catch more fish?” the American asked.

“I caught plenty for me and my family and even enough to give some to my friends,” he said.

“But what do you do with the rest of your time?” the American then asked.

The Mexican fisherman smiled and responded in a relaxed manner: “I sleep late, play with my children, take a siesta in the afternoon, and in the evening I go for walk on the beach with my wife where  I can sip on wine and play guitar with my friends.  I live a great full life!”

The American laughed and gave the Mexican fisherman some advice:  “Listen, I have an MBA from an elite American school and I can teach you about business.  What you should do is spend more time fishing and sell the fish you don’t consume.  With the extra money you can buy a bigger boat and hire some people to help you.  Pretty soon you will have several boats and eventually you will have a full fleet.”

He kept on going:  “Look, once you are big enough, instead of selling your fish through a middleman can start selling directly to consumers and even open your own cannery.  You could control the product, the processing and the distribution.  Then you can move to Mexico City and eventually to New York where you can hire the best managers to help grow your business.”

The fisherman then replied:  “But señor, how long will all this take?”

The American replied: “Fifteen to twenty years.  Twenty five at the most.”

“And then what would I do señor?” asked the fisherman.

The American smiled and said:  “Here is where big pay off comes.  At the right time you do an IPO, sell your company to the public and become very, very rich, with millions to your name.”

The Mexican still didn’t quite get it: “Millions?  And what would I do with all that money?”

To which the American replied: “Then you would move to a small fishing village in the coast, sleep late, play with your kids, take a siesta in the afternoon, and in the evening go for a walk on the beach with your wife where you could sip wine and play guitar with your friends…”

Popularity: 40% [?]

Social Bookmark this post: