WHAT DO YOU WANT IN LIFE?

A story is told of a tourist who docked his boat in a tiny African village coastline. The tourist complimented the African 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 tourist. The fisherman explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The tourist asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"  The fisherman answered, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife.  In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs.  I have a full life."  The tourist interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard 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 middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant.  You can then leave this little village and move to the City, Cape Town, or even Lagos!

From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."  The fisherman asked, "How long would that take?"  "Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the tourist.  The fisherman asked, "And after that?" Laughing, the Tourist replied, “Afterwards?  Well my friend, that's when it gets really interesting.  When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!"  The fisherman was excited and he asked, "Millions, really! And after that?" "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 a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying with your friends." The fisherman said, “But I am already doing these things!”

The moral of the story is for us at individual levels to know where you're going in life, because you may already be there like this fisherman. Current pressures of life and society to achieve, conquer, lead among many others offers many competing status which if you are not keen enough may misguide you from your life true north. Every one of us needs to find their life true north and decide what they want in life.