Ray – Yeah, that’s a really good point too, and one I’ve actually been thinking a lot about. I’m definitely going to have to sacrifice a bit to balance things out more, but I know it will be worth it in the long term.

An American businessman was at the pier of a tiny coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican (I think his name was JUAN !) on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.”

The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said that he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman replied, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my
children, take a siesta with my wife Maria, stroll into the village each
evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a
full and busy life, senor.”

The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should
spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would increase your profits and sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this tiny coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then to LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But senor, how long will this all take?”

The American replied, “15-20 years.”

“But what then, senor?”

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is
right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public
and become very rich, you would make millions.”

“Millions, senor? Then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a tiny coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the
evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

Add to that the pride and comfort spiral. If the fisherman does increase his lifestyle, gets the bigger faster better stuff, then he gets accustomed to it and has to maintain it or else lose happiness. Can’t just drop it all and go back to fishing without losing comfort and pride.

Tough balance indeed.