Lead a Fisherman's Life

Silhouette Of Boy Fishing At Sunset
An investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.

Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The banker complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long he took to catch them.

The fisherman replied, "Only a little while."

The banker then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fishes?"

The fisherman said, "With this, I have more than enough to support my family's needs."

The banker then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, go for walks with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends. As you can
see, I have a full and busy life."

The banker scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and I 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 a processor, eventually open your own cannery. You would control the product, process and the distribution. You would need to leave this small fishing village and move to the capital city. After that, who knows, maybe you could take on the world!"

The fisherman asked, "But how long will all this take?"

To which the banker replied, "I'd say about 15 to 20 years."

"But what then?" asked the fisherman.

The banker 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…?" asked the fisherman.

The banker said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, go for romantic walks with your wife, and in the evenings you could sip wine, play guitar and sing songs with your friends!"

To which the fisherman mused, "Now isn't that strange? Isn't that what I'm doing now?"

"Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast, you also miss the sense of where you are going and why."
- Eddie Cantor