The Mexican Fisherman

It's Important to know what you want.

An American investment banker was on holiday in a small coastal Mexican village. One lunchtime he was down on the pier when a local fisherman docked his small boat. He could see that inside the small boat were several large yellow fin 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 couple of hours."

The American then asked, "Why don't you stay out longer and catch more fish?"

The Mexican told him that 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, have a nice lunch, take siesta with my wife, Maria, play with my children, 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 I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the additional capacity of the bigger boat you could catch many more fish and make much more money. With the money you then buy more 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 then leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles 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?"

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 could retire and move to a small village on the coast. There you could sleep late, fish a little, have a nice lunch, take a siesta with your wife, find time to play with your children, stroll into the village each evening, sip wine and play guitar with your amigos."

Thoughts:

Sometimes we spend our whole life working hard without ever thinking about what it is that we want to get out of life. The more uncertain we are the harder we work. We need time to focus on our goals - the things that we want. Doing this alone can be quite tough. Sometimes we feel uncomfortable admitting even to ourselves what it is we want. Some of us just genuinely don't know, so we carry on doing what we have always done, hoping that something will come up to make us happy. A Professional Coach can help you to clarify your dreams and goals, and help you to take action and change if that is necessary. You might find that what you want is actually closer than you think, and within your control to achieve.

If you would like some help in focusing your mind on what you want, why don't you contact me and together we will make sure you are heading for the right beach.

Eric Sutherland

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