I've read the below story on linkedin recently and really liked it, hence sharing it here:
"Live your
life before life becomes lifeless"
A boat was docked in a tiny Mexican
fishing village.
A tourist complimented the local
fishermen on the quality of their fish and... asked how long it took to catch
them.
"Not very long" they
answered in unison.
"Why didn't you stay out longer
and catch more?"
The fishermen explained that their
small catches were sufficient to meet their needs and those of their families.
"But what do you do with the
rest of your time?"
"We sleep late, fish a little,
play with our children, and take siestas with our wives. In the evenings, we go
into the village to see our friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and
sing a few songs. We have a full life."
The tourist 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?"
"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?"
"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five
years." replied the tourist.
"And after that?"
"Afterwards? Well my friend,
that's when it gets really interesting," answered the tourist, laughing.
"When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling
stocks and make millions!"
"Millions? Really? And after
that?" asked the fishermen.
"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."
"With all due respect sir, but
that's exactly what we are doing now. So what's the point wasting twenty-five
years?" asked the Mexicans.
And the moral of this story is:
Know where you're going in life, you
may already be there! Many times in life, money is not everything.
“Live your life before life becomes lifeless” :)
