The Fisherman and The Businessman
I didn't expect a parable about a fisherman to smack me in the face with such clarity, but here we are.
While reading Grow slowly, stay small on Herman’s blog, I learned about The Fisherman and The Businessman, which goes like this:
A businessman meets a fisherman who is selling fish at his stall one morning. The businessman enquires of the fisherman what he does after he finishes selling his fish for the day. The fisherman responds that he spends time with his friends and family, cooks good food, and watches the sunset with his wife. Then in the morning he wakes up early, takes his boat out on the ocean, and catches some fish.
The businessman, shocked that the fisherman was wasting so much time encourages him fish for longer in the morning, increasing his yield and maximising the utility of his boat. Then he should sell those extra fish in the afternoon and save up until he has enough money to buy a second fishing boat and potentially employ some other fishermen. Focus on the selling side of the business, set up a permanent store, and possibly, if he does everything correctly, get a loan to expand the operation even further.
In 10 to 20 years he could own an entire fishing fleet, make a lot of money, and finally retire. The fisherman then asks the businessman what he would do with his days once retired, to which the businessman responds: “Well, you could spend more time with your friends and family, cook good food, watch the sunset with your wife, and wake up early in the morning and go fishing, if you want.”
– Herman Martinus
Ah man, preach! This resonated so much because I recently realised that I’m The Fisherman. Well, to be more accurate, I was The Fisherman posing as The Businessman. Now I’m just The Fisherman, and it’s lovely.
Since stepping down as an executive I’ve become happier, got far more job satisfaction, and I spend more time with my family. I’ve also realised that a lot of what was driving me was ego. I wanted to be important. I wanted the fancy title, the corner office, the prestige.
I wanted the job for all the wrong reasons.
I’m not saying all execs are egomaniacs. I’m saying my reasons for chasing that level were mostly ego. That’s on me.
At this point I have what I think is the perfect balance between pay, free time, and job satisfaction. I love my job again and I’m really fucking happy.
What’s the point of this post? Honestly, I have no idea. I just wanted to share this great little parable and say thanks to Herman for sharing it originally. If you’re not happy with your job, maybe it’s worth asking which one you’re being right now.