What did a Mexican fisherman and the greatest military conqueror of all time have in common?

Like many, my life pre-COVID vs post-pandemic changed dramatically. Aside from working in the office & traveling non-stop (first to try – in vain – to raise financing; and subsequently to secure partnerships for WatchMojo), my whole outlook of life & relationship with work changed.

While my memories of that era (2000-05 when working as an exec or 2006-20 when I was a founder/CEO) are all amazing, and came with its share of challenges, obstacles, setbacks & hits & successes… but if I actually think back to my mood, feelings, thoughts at each one of those moments, that image of the frustrated man on the phone captures my state of mind. Now, don’t get me wrong, sure I can complain about this or that now, but in each moment today I am actually more at ease and at peace than ever before… even though, comparing that wild roller coaster period to now makes my current life pretty boring and mundane (which is great: no news is good news). There are many lessons to you/others… For one, it’s important to just be in the moment… and block out the noise from the past & uncertainty of the future.

Second, I’m reminded of Alexander the Great’s last 3 wishes. The king asked his general to abide by these last wishes:

1) “My physicians alone must carry my coffin.”

2) “I desire that when my coffin is transported to the grave, the path leading to the graveyard shall display the wealth I collected.” 

3) “My third and last wish is that both my hands hang out of my coffin.”

Why, his general asked? To which the great king replied:

“I want the world to know the three lessons I have just learned. I want my physicians to carry my coffin because people should realize that no doctor can cure anybody. They are helpless in front of death. Second, I spent all my life earning riches but cannot take anything with me. Let people know that wealth is nothing but dust. Thirdly, I wish all to know that I came empty-handed into this world, and I will go empty-handed.”

Third and finally, this reminded me of the story of the Mexican fisherman and the American banker:

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village late one morning when a small boat docked. Inside the small boat was just one fisherman who had already caught several large fish. The American complimented the fisherman on the fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The fisherman replied, “only a little while.”

The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had caught plenty enough to provide for his family’s needs for quite a while and even to give some fish away to others in the village.

The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, and stroll into the village where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.”

The American scoffed. “I am an experienced businessman and can help you,” he said. “You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could have a fleet of fishing boats, open up your own cannery and control all of the distribution,” he said. “Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to a bigger city to run the expanding enterprise.”

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

To which the American replied, “Oh, 15 to 20 years or so.”

“But what then?” asked the Mexican.

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time was right, you would sell your company and become very rich. You would make millions!”

“Millions – then what?” asked the Mexican.

The American said, “Then you could retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, and stroll to the village where you could sip wine and play guitar with your amigos.”

“I already do that,” said the Mexican fisherman.

The end.