WORK / LIFE
"An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, “only a little while". The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.” The American 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 Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”
To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.”
“But what then?” Asked the Mexican.
The American 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 – then what?”
The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
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One thing I've come to realize through my time working, traveling, and living life is that time is the most important thing of all. If your end goal is a lot of money and your means to that money is giving over all your time, what's the point? Why own an amazing, huge house with fancy cars, etc. if you have to work so much that you can't even enjoy them? Wouldn't a smaller house with just one car be better because you'd have the time to do what you want. Of course, this world requires money, but there's science to suggest our happiness doesn't come from higher income after 70k. This is because 70K is enough to not have to worry about money and this level of income enables you to afford things you need and also, to buy some things that you want.
My end goal with my current "career path" plan, is to set up diverse passive income streams that enable me to pursue what I want to do, without the constraints of financial dependance tied to whatever it may be that I want to try. For example, making furniture out of wood is a hobby of mine that I enjoy however, if I had to sell a table to make rent for the month, I don't think I'd enjoy it quite so much.
Anyway, I love the above story because it points out the hypocrisy of the capitalist model. I think it's super important to consider The Point in whatever you do. Think about what you're working towards and why you want it. That's what I'm trying to do and it helps me make it closer everyday.