In a small Portuguise coastal village, a fishing boat was returning to port.  An American, who happened to be on the pier, complimented the fisherman on the good quality of his catch and enquired how long he had been at sea.

The fisherman replied “Not very long.”

“Well, why didn’t you stay at sea longer and catch even more fish ?” asked the American.  The fisherman said that he had caught enough for his needs.

The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time ?”

“I sleep-in every morning, I fish a little, I play with my children, and I spend as much time as possible with my wife.  In the evening I go to the village to see my friends.  We drink port or iced beer and talk about the people coming and going in the village.  In fact, my life is quite full.”

The American interrupted him: “I have a fantastic plan for you:  I have a Havard MBA and I can show you how to get rich.  You should start by fishing for a little longer each day.  With the extra revenue you could buy a bigger boat and be able to catch even more fish !

With the even greater profits, you could buy a second boat and so on until you own a fleet of fishing boats !  Instead of selling your catch to a middle man, who reduces your profit, you could directly negotiate with the fish processor or, better still, open your own cannery !

Then you can leave your small village and move your offices to Lisbon and, from there, to L.A. or even New York !

From there you could direct all your business and expand globally.” 

The fisherman became thoughtful and said at last.  “Well your plan of my career is interesting.  How much time will all this take ?”

“10 or 20 years” replied the American.

“Really ? and then what ?” asked the fisherman.

“After that – this is where it gets interesting !” replied the American, smiling with his perfect white teeth and laughing.  “When that moment arrives, you float your company on the stock market !

The sale of you stock to the public will earn you millions !”

 “Millions !  and then what ?” asked the fisherman.

“Well, once you have made your fortune, you could retire, reside in a small coastal village, sleep-in every morning, play with your children, go fishing for a while, take an afternoon nap with your wife and spend the evenings drinking and chatting with your friends ….”

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 “Have you really examined why you work ?” the American asked.

The fisherman, while seeming naive, understood that one should not ‘live to work’, but rather should ‘work to live’.

Work provides the money necessary for our basic needs and for enjoying our leisure, but it is not the goal.

Work and money are nothing more than a means of attaining a higher goal: a successful life, the highest achievement anyone can aspire to.

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 Work is useful to life, but a life made up of work is meaningless.

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