Enjoy Your Life Today

A boat was docked in a tiny fishing village.

A tourist complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

“Not very long,” answered the fisherman.

“But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the visitor.

The fisherman explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet the needs of his family.

The visitor asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take an afternoon nap. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a drink, play the guitar, and sing a few songs… I have a full life.”

The visitor interrupted, “I have an MBA from a business university and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.”

“And after that?” asked the fisherman.
“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 then negotiate directly with the processing plants, or maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to a larger town on the coast! From there you can direct your new enterprise.”

“How long would that take?” asked the fisherman.

“Perhaps twenty years,” replied the visitor.

“And after that?”

“Afterwards? Well, my Friend, that’s when it gets really interesting,” answered the visitor, laughing. “When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!”

“Millions? Really? And after that?” said the fisherman.

“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take an afternoon nap, and spend your evenings visiting and enjoying your friends.”

And the moral is:
Know where you’re going in life… You may already be there