This story is one that resonates deeply with me. It is a reminder to enjoy each moment now, rather than waiting for “perfect conditions” to present themselves before allowing yourself to let go, and be at peace. Appreciate simplicity. Look at what’s right in front of you; find joy and contentment in the here and now.
Please enjoy, and take what you will from this message.
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 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 sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!”
“Millions – then what?”
The American paused and smiled, “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.”
The message in this story inspires me to slow down and take a mindful look around me. It keeps me grounded and brings my awareness to what’s important. What a great accomplishment when you can sit back and say, “I am content. I have all that I need.”
I think back to how many times in my life I have told myself, “When I have ‘this’ then I will be happy!” “Once I’m past ‘this event’ in my life, I will finally be at peace!” “Once I’ve achieved ‘this goal’ I will have made it”…I was always waiting.
Now I try to live my life by a new motto: Don’t chase happiness, recognize it.
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post please give it an upvote! And be sure to visit me on my blog and Instagram for more inspiration. ~Krissy
https://www.instagram.com/bicycles_and_berries/
http://bicyclesandberries.com/
Hi, @krissy-b!
Copying/Pasting articles without permission is copyright infringement.
The source of your article is: http://bicyclesandberries.com/live-the-life-you-love-love-the-life-you-live/ - As I understood you claim to be an author, could you please somehow verify that?
Also, there're several other websites with the same content, e.g.: http://bemorewithless.com/the-story-of-the-mexican-fisherman/ (Courtney Carver claims to be an author)
If you want to share a news story, simply link to the source, and include your original commentary, and possibly small quotes from source. Copy paste is discouraged by the community, and may result in action from the cheetah bot.
@steemcleaners
Hi. I am the author of Bicycles and Berries, please let me know how you would like me to confirm that. I have taken this post from my personal blog to share on this platform. Also, I have not made any claims to have written the story of the Mexican fisherman, that story has been in circulation for some time now. I did write my take on the story/commentary. Thanks for your feedback and concerns.
The easiest would be to edit your blog and add somewhere that you are on steemit.
In order to prevent identity theft we like to encourage users that have an online identity, post for a website or blog, and celebrities of all notoriety to verify themselves. Verified users tend to receive a better reception from the community.
Verification can be as simple as posting to your website or blog. If you use twitter or facebook, you can also create a tweet or post there. For our easily recognizable Steemians, a photo with you holding a piece of paper with the time & date will suffice.
Thank You! ☙
Google dates this story to at least 2002: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KI8J3-yIz0cJ:www.noogenesis.com/pineapple/fisherman.html+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
And I'm sure it was written well before then. Are you sure you wrote this?
Please see above response. Thank you.