I recently stumbled upon a short story by Heinrich Böll. This quick story serves as a great lesson and reminder on how we should view money’s role in our lives.
Enjoy!
The Story of the Mexican Fisherman
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 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 little while.”
The American then asked why he didn’t 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 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 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, and 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 NYC, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But how long will this take?”
To which the American replied, “Fifteen to twenty 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?” asked the fisherman. “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 evening, sip wine, and play guitar with your amigos!”
What We Can Learn from the Mexican Fisherman Story
There are many tools at our disposal to building a happy and fulfilling life.
Money is one of those tools.
However, money is just that… a single tool. While it’s easy to believe that more money will make us happier, we shouldn’t blindly pursue it without question. Instead, we should strive to make as much money that makes sense in order to align with our core values and goals.
If we spend our limited time on this world chasing an imaginary appetite, we will never feel satisfied. That time is better spent with friends and family & pursuing our passions.
With that being said, here is a video that i found years ago by Steve Cutts that really stood out to me:
The Mexican Fisherman Story & My Life
After graduating from college, my primary goal was to accumulate as much wealth as fast as possible. While I was successful in this goal, my life didn’t have much purpose beyond that.
While I had more money than I thought I would have at my age, what is this all for? What was the point of saving this money? There was something distinctly missing in my life.
If something were to happen to me, I couldn’t have said that I lived a very fulfilling life.
This was an eye-opener and I decided to re-evaluate my goals.
Fast forward a few years later; I am now married and have a family of my own. While I am not saving as much as I did prior, I have absolutely no regrets.
Because any time spent with my wife playing with our daughter while our golden retriever begs for more belly-rubs is worth way more than whatever extra savings that we could be stocking away. This is my definition of a happy, simple & fulfilling life.
Thank you for reading! 🙂
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Madi says
Really enjoyed this one!
Time Value Millionaire says
Thanks, Madi! It’s always good to keep things in perspective.