I recently interviewed Peter Brugman, founder of The Ad Group in Ballarat.
We are talking about business life.
The importance of knowing your life goals.
A boat was docked in a tiny Mexican fishing village.
A tourist complimented the local fishermen on the quality of their fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
“Not very long”, they answered in unison.
“Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?”
The fishermen explained that their small catches were sufficient to meet their needs and those of their families.
“But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
“We sleep late, fish a little, play with our children, and take siestas with our wives. In the evenings, we visit the village to see our friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. We have a full life.”
The tourist interrupted, “I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you! It would help if you started 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?”
“With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second and a third one until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your plant. You can leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City!!! From there, you can direct your huge new enterprise.”
“How long would that take?”
“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years.” replied the tourist.
“And after that?”
“Afterwards? Well, my friend, that’s when it gets exciting,” answered the tourist, laughing. “When your business grows, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!”
“Millions? Really? And after that?” asked the fishermen.
“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 your friends.”
“With all due respect, sir, that’s exactly what we are doing now. So what’s the point wasting twenty-five years?” asked the Mexicans.
And the moral of this story is: Know where you’re going in life; you may already be there! Many times in life, money is not everything.
“Live your life before life becomes lifeless.”