Taken From Matthew Kelly’s “OFF Balance: Getting Beyond the Work-Life Balance Myth to Personal and Professional Satisfaction, pages 1-4.
Once upon a time there was an investment banker. He lived in New York City, was phenomenally successful, and made a ton of money. But his life was busy, noisy, and very stressful.
So, once a year, he would leave the city and go down to a small coastal village in Mexico. For two weeks he would rest, relax, and allow himself to be rejuvenated. One day he was standing on the pier just before lunch, looking out to sea, when he noticed a small fishing boat coming in to dock. He thought this was a little strange because most of the fishermen stayed out late into the afternoon so they could catch as many fish as possible before coming in and preparing the fish for market.
Curiosity overcame him so he walked over to where the fishing boat was about to dock. Looking into the boat, he saw just one fisherman and several large yellow fin tuna.
“How long did it take you to catch those fish?” he said to the fisherman.
“Not very long,“ the fisherman replied with a smile.
“Is there something wrong with your boat?“ the American asked.
“Oh, no,” the fisherman said. “In 13 years I have never had a problem with the boat.”
The American was a little perplexed, so he asked the fisherman, “Why don’t you stay out there longer and catch more fish?”
The fisherman smiled again and said, “This is plenty here for my family right now. Some of the fish we can eat, and the others we can sell or trade for the other things we need.”
“But it’s not even lunchtime. What do you do with the rest of your time?”
“In the morning,” the fisherman explained, “I like to sleep late. When I wake I fish a little, mostly just for the pleasure of fishing. In the afternoon I play with my children and take siesta with my wife. In the evenings I have dinner with my family. And then, when my children are sleeping, I stroll into the village, or I sip wine and play guitar with my friends.”
The American scoffed and said, “I’m a Harvard MBA and I can help you.“
The fisherman was a little skeptical, but nonetheless he obliged and asked, “How? “
“You should fish longer every day,” the American counseled, “late into the afternoon. This way you will catch more fish and make more money, and you can buy a bigger boat. With the bigger boat you will catch even more fish and make even more money, and then you can buy another boat and hire another man to work the second boat.“
“But what then?“ the fisherman inquired. “Oh, we are just getting started! With two boats you’ll catch even more fish and make even more money, and before you know it you’ll have a whole fleet of boats and every man in the village looking for work will come to you.“
“But what then?“ the fisherman asked.
“Before too long, you can cut out the middleman, sell your fish direct to the cannery, and make more money.
As your fleet of boats continues to expand you can build your own cannery. And before you know it, you’ll be able to leave the small coastal village, move to Mexico City, and manager your expanding enterprise.“
“But what then? “the fisherman persisted.
“Well, then you can begin to ship your fish to different parts of the world. Down into Asian and Australia and up into North America. And as demand grows for your fish, you can leave Mexico City, move to Los Angeles, open a distribution plant there, and begin to ship your fish to Europe and every corner of the globe.“
“But what then?“ the
fisherman asked again.
The Americancontinued, “by then your business will be one of the great ventures of the industry. You can move to New York City and manage your empire from the epicenter of the business world. “
“How long will this all take?” the fisherman asked.
“Twenty-five, maybe thirty years,“ the banker explained.
“But what will I do then?” the fisherman asked.
The American’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. “That’s the best part,“ he said. “When the time is just right, you can go down to Wall Street, list your business as a public company, offer an IPO, and make millions and millions of dollars.“
“Millions?“ the fisherman asked.
“More money than you ever dreamed you could earn in ten lifetimes,“ the American explained.
“But what then?“ the fisherman asked.
The American didn’t know what to say. He had reached his climax. He was stumped. But then a thought crossed his mind and triggered an idea, and he turned once more to the fisherman and spoke.
“Well, then you could move to a small coastal village, you could sleep late, you could fish just for the pleasure of fishing, in the afternoons you could take siesta with your wife, in the evenings you could have dinner with your family, and then you could stroll into the village and sip wine and play guitar with your friends…
So why this story? Would you really like to live as this fisherman? Most of you likely could if you chose to, and it is not the money that’s stopping you, but it is “everything” you’d have to give up. If all the cards were on the table, we’d say no to the fisherman’s life. Imagine life with no technology, electricity, heating or AC, never seen a dentist, has no health plan, never eats out, maybe can read, certainly doesn’t drive even a Prius, and his dear wife of many siestas (I like that), makes and repairs his few clothes; but he does enjoy his life … and family, and he really knows how to fix a tasty meal of fish, and frequently too!
I’m told well under $200 per month could provide you this fisherman’s life as depicted. A mere $100,000 at 3% interest would be ample and you could give the fish away…or sleep later. But you know what, very few of my audience are likely even attracted to such a life. Oh, with some fudging as tourists we’d enjoy several weeks perhaps, but a year being that primitive reminds me too much of our neighbors in black who drive buggies and have lanes without gravel. Personally, even this fisherman’s life sounds heaps better than their existence! I admit and confess I am much too addicted to our cultural comforts! I know this because I grew up that way too, without the black, but English and in poverty!
But while we’re on the subject of life satisfaction, lets first define it as “the contentment and fulfillment that arise from the gratification of needs and desires.” Statistically, I understand many of us have given up on ever being vocationally satisfied and are merely existing “biding our time” until … Finishing that sentence with people is always interesting. Try it if you get the opportunity.
Perhaps the Fisherman story got you to dream for five minutes. You realize that honestly, you don’t really like your life right now, and the simplicity of fishing (or not) on the Mexican coast can’t be any worse, plus the serenity and beauty of the Pacific Ocean, Wow! So by now are we all tucked back into our Wayne Co. security blankets just singing its praises…. But a bit shocked perhaps how DISSATISFIED we found ourselves for the five minutes we were off in our dreamworld of something better!
Which is most interesting because we hadn’t even allowed ourselves to consider the possibility prior that just maybe we are not all that satisfied vocationally. Ouch, is that revealing or what? I’m going to tell you something I’ve learned recently the hard way; sometimes it is really good (and even downright necessary) to get in touch with our dis-satisfactions in life. Too often we can deceive ourselves right into oblivion, or worse. I am also now living by the premise I’m not nearly so concerned about what I happen to do for money, (or not do), or vocationally, etc., or perhaps I did do before retirement, as I am concerned about what I am becoming. As Christians, we must never forget it is all about the process. We are all on the journey. It is not about who we were, what we did prior, even what we are doing now. Rather it is all about who we are becoming.
So, let’s think a minute about the life you really want; perhaps it surfaced for several seconds during the story. To stimulate further thought, I’m going to pose you a series of seven questions I suggest you write down, post them for easy multiple daily sightings, as well as in your new Staples booklet (call it your God book, Dream book, Keep-Me-Honest-book, etc.) and reflect on them until you’ve got your answers. Next, just think about it all for several months; and write your thoughts down to track your processing. Then either email me for further instructions or buy the book.
1. What do you like about your life as it is today?
2. What don’t you like about your life as it is today?
3. Do you feel trapped by any of the things you don’t like about your life today?
4. If you went to the doctor next week and he told you that you were dying and had one year to live, what would you do for the next year?
5. If you inherited $10 Billion, what would you do with the rest of your life, and what would you do with the money?
6. What is holding you back from the life you really want?
7. If you could change three things about your life, what would they be?
These seven may take several cups of coffee to even get you started good. I suggest you buy a $4 Staples booklet (sorta like the Moleskins but do not spend $20; they were on sale for $2 when I was in) and write down these questions. I hope this booklet stays as close as your Bible for the rest of your life. Only one question on a page though! Believe me, you’re going to need the space beneath for your notes if you are serious.
You know, too often we just don’t ever sit down and think about how we’re living. I hear most of us spend more time planning our vacations than we do our lives. That is not Biblical! I do believe too often we stumble into our culturally acceptable mode of living that is satisfying to us (compared to what though). Actually, the real issues of life and our mandate to be disciples (here and now, not someday I’ll..) is being lulled to sleep by the trivial busyness of merely economic survival soon followed by poor health, dysfunctional families, and too often, spiritual despair.
More ideas on this next week. Blessings as YOU GO FORTH>>>> Merlin