The Fisherman Story
There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small village on the coast.
As he sat, he saw a fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite a few big fish. The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?”
The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a couple of hours.”
“Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?” asked the businessman.
“This is enough to feed my whole family,” the fisherman said.
“But it’s only 2pm!” said the businessman. “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?”
The fisherman smiled and replied, “Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I take a nap and each evening I stroll into the village with my wife and join my friends for a drink; we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night. I have a full and wonderful life”.
The businessman offered a suggestion to the fisherman. “I am a successful business man. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you should spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fish as possible. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and distribution network. By then, you will have moved out of this village to the city where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches.”
The fisherman asked, “And after that?”
The businessman laughed heartily, “After that, you can live like a king in your own house and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares on the Stock Exchange and you will be rich!”
The fisherman asked, “And after that?”
The businessman explained enthusiastically, “After that, you can finally retire. You can move to a house by a fishing village; wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with your kids. In the afternoon, take a nap and each evening stroll into the village with your wife and join your friends for a drink; you can play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night. You would have a full and wonderful life!”
The fisherman smiled at the businessman, quietly gathered his catch and walked away.
Anonymous