A tourist went on a trip to Mexico. While wandering around, he arrived at the seashore and was delighted to watch the fishermen catching fish. He approached them and asked,

“How long does it take you to catch fish each day?”

“Not very long,” the fishermen replied quickly.

“Then why don’t you spend more time fishing and catch more fish?” the tourist asked.

“The fish we catch are enough for our needs,” the fishermen said as they pulled in their nets.

“Then what do you do with the rest of your time?” the tourist wanted to know.

The fishermen answered, “We sleep, play with our children, eat with our wives, spend time chatting with friends in the evening, have fun, laugh, sing loudly, and enjoy life.”

Interrupting them, the tourist said, “I have an MBA from Harvard University. I can help you with my business knowledge. You should spend more time fishing, sell the extra fish, and buy a bigger boat.”

“Then what?” the fishermen asked.

“With bigger boats you’ll catch more fish and earn more money. With that money you can buy several more boats. Eventually, you’ll build an entire fishing fleet. Then you won’t sell your fish to middlemen anymore—you’ll deal directly with fish processing factories. One day, you’ll even open your own fish processing factory. After becoming very wealthy, you’ll leave the village and move to a big city in Mexico, or even to Los Angeles or New York in the USA. From there, you’ll launch mega projects,” the tourist went on.

“How long will all this take?” the fishermen asked.

“It will take at least 20 to 25 years,” the tourist replied after a moment of thought.

“And then?” the fishermen asked curiously.

Smiling, the man said, “When your business grows even bigger, you’ll enter the stock market and earn millions of dollars.”

“Millions of dollars! Suppose we get that. But then what?” the fishermen asked in surprise.

Now slightly annoyed, the tourist replied, “Then you’ll retire. You’ll return to a quiet village, sleep by the sea, play with your children, eat with your wife, spend evenings chatting with friends, and enjoy life.”

The fishermen looked at him calmly and said,
“But that’s exactly what we are doing right now! So why should we suffer for 20–25 years?”

—Collected

If the Life That Takes 25 Years to Achieve Is Already Yours Today

Sajid R Rahman