The Businessman and the Fisherman

What do you really hope to achieve in life? Read this story and you
may find what you are always hoping to achieve, you may be already
having it.
A young businessman was at the pier of a small coastal village when a
small boat with just one fisherman docked. Seeing several large
yellowfin tuna inside the small boat, the businessman complimented the
fisherman on the quality of the fish and asked how long it took to
catch them. "Only a little while", the fisherman replied.
A little surprised, the young business man asked, "Why didn't you stay
out longer and catch more fish?" The content fisherman said, "This is
enough to support my family's immediate needs. I don't need any more."
"But what do you do with the rest of your time?" asked the confused
young man. "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a
walk with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip
wine and play guitar with my buddies; I have a full and busy life."
The lad scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you.


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,
eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling
your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor,
eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product,
processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small
coastal fishing village and move to LA and eventually NYC where you
will run your expanding enterprise."
The fisherman asked, "How long will this all take?" to which the young
man replied, "15-20 years." "But what then?" The business man laughed
and said "That's the best part. When the time is right you would
announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become
very rich, you would make millions."
"Millions, sir? Then what?"
"Then you would retire, move to a small coastal fishing village where
you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a walk
with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could
sip wine and play your guitar with your buddies."
The fisherman was puzzled, "Isn't that what I am doing now?"
So, what does one really hope to achieve in life? What do you hope to
accomplish in the end?
--
Aaron Shangne