We recently came across the parable of The Mexican Fisherman. Have you heard it before? We want to talk about what we can learn from this parable…
Here it is below:
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 yellowfin 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 announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!”
“Millions – then what?”
The American said, “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 main thing to take from this parable is to reflect on what lifestyle we want. We often focus on what job we are in and whether our job role is fulfilling us. Instead, this story encourages us to focus on what lifestyle we strive for, where we can fit in all of our day to day needs and allow time for other important aspects of life such as family, self-care, socialising etc. It whittles down to the simple things in life. Step back and think about what things are valuable to you, what is most important to you?
So, what can we learn from this story?
Have you thought about what you want from your life? We have seen a lot of people reconsider what is important to them as they return to ‘normal’ life after the pandemic. People are wondering what their ‘new normal’ is. We are hearing stories about people moving from cities to more rural life, or people wanting to reduce their hours at work, or people realising how nice it was to have more family time and trying to make sure they keep that going forward. This is certainly a time for reflection and for us to think about what is the life we are trying to achieve.
We have been raised to think about our careers as working in one job and contributing to our pension so we can retire and have the life we want. Like our Mexican fisherman, some people are now realising that we can create a lifestyle we want and think about our career to support this. I recognise this is a privileged position that comes from a career choice that not everyone has. It also comes from the privileges of being able to understand financial management and being able to plan and budget. In the work we do at CMCBP with people who are creating their second careers, we often see decisions and choices are made in terms of financial and career choices. Even the financial choices of realising what you need to create the lifestyle you want….and not keeping up with the jones!
Sometimes it can be like the fisherman in realising you already have it all. Instead of worrying about how we can do better, make more, achieve bigger….focus on what you already have. What is important to you, and what is it you want for your life. Ambition and financial success are brilliant objectives, just take time to know why you want them and what they will give to your life. Recognise this as it is easy to get lost in striving for more when a lot of the time, we are exactly in the place we once dreamed to be.
The time is now and I feel that as a society, a lot of us are realising the precious gift of life after living through a time of fear. You can be wanting more in the future, like the Harvard Grad. But it is sometimes necessary to stop and look at where you are in your life. Start building joy into your days and you may not be constantly wishing and hoping for the future. Yes, it is good to have future goals and aspirations but also allow yourself to enjoy where you are now. Don’t forget to appreciate the moment before it passes you by.
The power of stories is reflected so well in this story. We read this story and had a chat at CMCBP. Both Clare and Siobhan are at very different stages in their career but have both been very inspired to take some time to reflect. Clare has been working with a portfolio career for a long time, to create more choice and options, she is studying why people create second careers in their life and has made some changes to slow down. One ‘return to normal’ she won’t be taking back is the weekly overnight work trips as they did not bring joy to her life. We will finish the blog with words from Siobhan “I wanted to reflect on where I am at in my life, my achievements and goals and also the great relationships I have. If ever I am feeling overwhelmed, I can come back to this story and remind myself to appreciate the moment.” At CMCBP, we encourage you to do the same.
For many more lessons we can learn from this story please go to BeMoreWithLess.
What lifestyle do you want your career to support?
