This week one of the online newsletters I subscribe to, Points to Ponder by psychologist Dr. Mark Hillman, shared a wonderful and thought provoking story that I thought was very appropiate for this time of year. It goes like this:

 

 

A businessman was visiting a coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large tuna fish. The businessman complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fishand asked how long it took to catch them.

 

The man replied that it took only a little while.

The businessman then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish. The man said he had enough to support his family's
immediate needs.

 

 

The businessman then asked the man how he spent the rest of his time. The fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a nap with my wife, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends. I have a full and busy
life."

 

 

The businessman scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and can help you. Here is my advice. You should spend more time fishing and, with the money, buy a bigger boat. With the money from the bigger boat, you could buy several more boats. Eventually you would have a whole fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you could sell directly to the
processor, and open your own cannery. You could control the production, processing and distribution.

 

Then you could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then to Los Angeles, and eventually to New York City where you could run your expanding business."

 

 

The fisherman asked, "But, how long will all this take?"

The businessman replied, "15-20 years."

"But what then?" asked the fisherman.

The businessman laughed and said, "That's the best part! When the time is right, you could sell your company stock to the public. You will becomevery rich, and you will make millions of dollars!"

 

 

"Millions?" replied the man. "Then what?"

 

 

The businessman said, "Then you could retire. You could move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take naps with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your friends."

 

 

So Dr. Mark's question is, "Is there more than everything?"