Sunday Story: Know Where You Are Going

So I was reading a book called 'How to Climb 5.12', and the basic gist I got was this:

"If you get really intense, then you can get to the next level!  It may not be fun, but you'll climb 5.12!"  But the thing is, with stuff like this, when you get to 5.12 it's great at first, and you're an elite climber and yada yada yada, but if you develop the mindset of: "I don't care about fun, I just want to get to the next level" - then you never have fun!  And that's the reason people climb in the first place!

So the moral of the story, is know where you're going.  If what you really want in life is just a simple, quiet, easy life, then go there, don't go all the way around just to end up in the same place.  I think this story does a good job of illustrating that point.

An American tourist 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 tourist 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 tourist then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?"

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

The tourist 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 siesta 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 tourist scoffed, " I can 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 could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you could run your ever-expanding enterprise."

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

The tourist replied, "15 to 20 years."

"But what then?" asked the Mexican.

The tourist laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would 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 siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

http://www.noogenesis.com/pineapple/fisherman.html

Hope yal liked it!


Deuces
-Chris