Know Where You are Going in Life

6 replies
I want to share a story that I read few days ago that has helped me see life from a brand new perspective.

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." The Mexican fisherman replied " I think, senor, I am already there !"

And the moral is:

Know where you're going in life... you may already be there
#life
  • Profile picture of the author Hakim AK
    love this one..

    first heard this story while reading tim ferriss's 4 hr work week.
    the idea is to take mini-retirements now while outsourcing your work.

    it made me realise that whatever hard work that i'm putting in now for the future isn't worth it.
    instead i'm all for working smart now, outsourcing time consuming stuff and spending time with my family..
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  • I know it's hard for me to do because I am ambitious. But I keep reminding myself what's important right now. Try to find a balance between ambition and contentment. To focus on working to provide for my family and give them a good life, not to work so I can just keep working.
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  • Profile picture of the author Odahh
    think about this story when you hear people lable everyone who didn't amass huge wealth as a failure .

    how do you get the lifestyle you want without having to make a crap ton of money ..the only lifestyle that really requires it is one that has you in some form of shallow competition with other wealthy people ..

    who know what the world will be like in 20-30 years ..ok i have an idea ..but it scare the crap out of a lot of people depending on how they view it ..if you went back a=nd described things today to people 30 years ago ..forget explaining the internet .. just tell them the societ union collapsed and is a petrolium power run by an ex kgb agent ..and china is the manufacturing power of the world ... and their brains will shut down.

    my advice to the fisherman .. would be to work hard enough to buy himself a few acres of land 4 or five ..plant fruit trees and other things that produce food all year round and dig a big fish pond so incase someone else take the businessmans advice and builds a fleet that fishes out your local stocks you will always have fish
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  • That has to be the best story I have heard in a good while. And it has such a great message presented in such a simple round about way.

    Such a simple sound story. Yes!

    LLS
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    • Profile picture of the author Apra Barua
      Nice story, I've read it before but still a good read second time...

      Success is interpreted in different ways by different people. It is essential to have goals in life which gives a sense of purpose to our life. Even setting up a small goal helps us find some direction to where we should be focusing our attention.
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      • Profile picture of the author nicosuccess
        Awesome Story, Love it.

        I remember Brian Tracy saying: If you don't know where you are going, you'll definitely get there
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