Photo Credit: Steve Evans. (CC 2.0)
Classic Brazilian story, probably also present in other cultures.
There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Brazilian village.
As he sat, he saw a Brazilian fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite few big fish.
The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?”
The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a short while.”
The businessman was astonished. “Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?”
“This is enough to feed my whole family,” the fisherman said.
The businessman then asked, “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?”
The fisherman replied, “Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I take a nap with my wife, and when evening comes, I join my buddies in the village for a drink — we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night.”
The businessman offered a suggestion to the fisherman.
“I am a PhD in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you should spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fish as possible. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and distribution network. By then, you will have moved out of this village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches.”
The fisherman continues, “And after that?”
The businessman laughs heartily, “After that, you can live like a king in your own house, and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be rich.”
The fisherman asks, “And after that?”
The businessman says, “After that, you can finally retire, you can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning, catch a few fish, then return home to play with kids, have a nice afternoon nap with your wife, and when evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!”
The fisherman was puzzled, “Isn’t that what I am doing now?”
This article is reprinted, from
Paulo Coelho's website, with gratitude.
Books by this author
Warrior of the Light: A Manual
by Paulo Coelho.
The Warrior of The Light: A Manual invites us to live out our dreams to embrace the uncertainty of life, and to rise to our own unique destiny. In his inimitable style, Paulo Coelho shows readers how to embark upon the way of the Warrior: the one who appreciates the miracle of being alive, the one who accepts failure, and the one whose quest leads him to become the person he wants to be.
Click here for more info and/or to order this book on Amazon.
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept: A Novel of Forgiveness
by Paulo Coelho.
In a small village in the French Pyrenees, by the waters of the River Piedra, a most special relationship is reexamined in the dazzling light of some of life’s biggest questions.
Click here for more info and/or to order this book on Amazon.
About the Author
Paulo Coelho is the author of numerous books, of which the first to become a success, The Alchemist has gone on to sell more than 65 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling books in history. It has been translated into more than 70 languages, the 71st being Maltese, winning the Guinness World Record for most translated book by a living author. Since the publication of The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho has generally written one novel every two years including By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, The Fifth Mountain, Veronika Decides to Die, The Devil and Miss Prym, Eleven Minutes, Like the Flowing River, The Valkyries and The Witch of Portobello. Visit his website at www.paulocoelho.com
