Maybe you heard about this story – It’s quite well known. I love it and gives me a smile every time I read it. It’s all about doing what you want in life and being happy. Enjoy!
A boat docked in a tiny Greek village. An American tourist complimented the Greek fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.
“Not very long,” answered the Greek.
“But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the American.
The Greek explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The American asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings I go into the village to see my friends, dance a little, drink a bit, and sing a few songs. I have a full life.”
The American 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 revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.
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 middleman, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant.
You can then leave this little village and move to Athens, London or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge enterprise.”
“How long would that take?” asked the Greek.
“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the American.
“And, after that? Afterwards?”
“That’s when it gets really interesting,” answered the American, laughing. “When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!”
“Millions? Really? And after that?”
“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your grandchildren, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife, and spend your evenings singing, dancing, playing and drinking with your friends…”
Photo credit: stuck in customs
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
That´s a wonderful story! Never heard it before…made me smile as well
Love it! Mwah x
so true
There is a lot of truth to that, and like everything in life there is the other side of the coin. If the man ever wanted say his children to grow up in a different neighborhood, or to leave a legacy for them, then he would benefit from taking the advice of the American.
Absolutely. I don’t like taking sides here… But it’s good to see and know the two sides of the story!
There are even more sides of the coin: There is ambition to improve your own life and ambition for things you want to reach for other people, the community, for humanism. Improving only your own life and luck, as the Havard guy suggested, can be quite unsatisfactory, in my opinion, and clearly doesn’t make sense for many people.
The fisherman is leading the “life” what the American tourist aim to live after twenty five years.
I’m not saying that living a simple, humble life like the fisherman’s is the wrong thing, it’s different for everybody. I just get tired of people downplaying thinking big like it’s a bad thing. Imagine someone telling Mario that there’s no need for him to travail, to share his stories, lessons, and experiences with others. That he should just live a simple life in his home town.
Ambition to improve yourself is kind of needed for the sake of those around you. Things like learning a new language, or reading books like How to Win Friends and Influence People. Making yourself a better person can also inspire others to do the same for themselves.