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Sat 17 Jan, 2004 07:00 pm
There is life after work
In a small Portuguese 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 had he been at sea.
The fisherman replied "Not very long."
"Well, why didn't you stay at sea 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 Harvard 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 middleman, 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 businesses 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?"
"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 your stock to the public will earn you millions!"
"Millions! And then what?"
"Well, once 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..."
....................................................................
Have you really examined why you work? The fisherman, while seeming
naive, understood that one should not live to work but rather 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 means for attaining a higher goal: a successful
life, the highest achievement anyone can aspire to.
....................................................................
"Work is useful to life, but a life made
up of work is meaningless."
- M. De. Cornovardt.
(c)www.positive-club.com, 2004
That's the reason I retired at 63. If I had known then what I now know, I would have retired earlier.
Misti - thanks for the reminder.
For years and years now I've been working too hard today for the promise of a better tomorrow. I'm getting real sick and tired of this plan about now.
The one little victory I have each day is when I turn the page on my desktop calender and peel off one more day until early retirement. Today is 852.
Jim, You're counting days like I counted days unitl my discharge from the US Air Force back in the late fifties. The day I took that last bus ride out of Walker AFB stands as one of the happiest days of my life. I really felt like a prisoner for all the four years of my enlistment. My son stayed in for over 12 years as a Weapon's Officer in the air force.
Jim, not bad, it's around the corner!
Good luck and keep thinking of the prospect of more relaxing days:)
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