Friday, April 9, 2010

Philosophy of life

Philosophy of life

A boat 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 him to catch them.

"Not very long." they answered in unison.

Tourist: "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.

Tourist: "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

Fishermen: "We sleep late, fish a little, play with our children.... 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."

Fishermen: "And after that?"

Tourist: "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."

Fishermen: "How long would that take?"

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years." replied the tourist.

Fishermen: "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!"

Fishermen: "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, 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 of wasting twenty-five years?" asked the fishermen.

And the moral of this story is:
Know where you're going in life, you may already be there! Be contented!

8 comments:

iwanttobemillionaire said...

A gorgeous story. Once you know your direction and map your way there and make sure that it is something that add values to your life. interesting.

Diana said...

So true... I feel that I am where I want to be.. But apparently many think its not right.. Sigh...

Kerene said...

Life is yours to control, and you live for yourself. As long as you are happy, nothing matters. :)

Elizabeth said...

I've seen this so many times while traveling... poverty shouldnt be judged simply by money. great story!

bfishoutofwater.blogspot.com/

Kerene said...

Yes, all. We often need to read again and again just to remind us about that life is not all about money. :)

Amolkumar said...

NO ONE CAN CONTROL LIFE

Anonymous said...

excellent, excellent story! really powerful.

keishua said...

that is a sweet story. sometimes we get so focus on getting more-we forget we already have enough. Peace to you.