Story of the Mexican Fisherman and Investment Banker
By Warren Wong
The story I’m about to tell you has made a profound impact on how I view work and life. Now I will share it with you guys.
The Story
“An American investment banker was taking a much-needed vacation in a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. The boat had several large, fresh fish in it.
The investment banker was impressed by the quality of the fish and asked the Mexican how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.” The banker then asked why he didn’t stay out longer and catch more fish?
The Mexican fisherman replied 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 siesta with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos: I have a full and busy life, señor.”
The investment banker scoffed, “I am an Ivy League MBA, and I could help you. You could 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 until eventually, you would have a whole fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to the middleman you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You could control the product, processing and distribution.”
Then he added, “Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City where you would run your growing enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But señor, how long will this all take?”
To which the American replied, “15–20 years.”
“But what then?” asked the Mexican.
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 could make millions.”
“Millions, señor? Then what?”
To which the investment banker replied, “Then you would retire. You could move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
Defining Wealth
The fisherman and the banker is a juxtaposition of wealth. On the one hand we have wealth as money, status, and power, represented by the banker, whereas, the fisherman represents peace, nature, and family.
To me, wealth is a balance between money, relationships, and health. It would be hard to deny that money plays a role in our happiness, but it’s not everything.
Just because one is rich doesn’t mean they don’t get sad, angry, or get sick. Being rich doesn’t mean one doesn’t have to work on themselves, their relationships, and find purpose. There are many things that money can’t solve.
And so, we have to ask ourselves, “When is enough?” A millionaire can still feel poor relative to a billionaire, and a billionaire to Warren Buffet. Can we find contentment in our everyday lives without sacrificing our peace of mind and livelihood in the pursuit of money?
A Shortcut to Wealth
The fisherman makes us wonder, perhaps there’s a shortcut to wealth. I imagine many of us at one point thought of wealth as a destination. And that, once we reach that magical number we will be happy and fulfilled.
One of the biggest mistakes we make is equating money to happiness. Money is a tool that can simplify our lives and bring moments of happiness, but many of the best and consistent sources of happiness in life are free. Laughing with friends, sharing a moment with family, the sun on your skin, the first days of Spring, and a purpose come to mind.
I love this story because the banker is such an apt representation of our relationship with money. Even though the Mexican fisherman didn’t have the university degree or the fancy titles, he knew more than the banker ever did.
An uncomfortable truth that we need to face is what does it all mean if money isn’t what we should be solely striving for? For some, that leaves a big void in their lives.
If success, status, money, and fame isn’t what I should strive for, then what is the meaning of life? What should I be doing with my time, just for the sake of it? These are uncomfortable questions that require deep reflection.
By removing money from the equation, it forces us to find purpose, and understand what makes us happy. For the Mexican fisherman that was his family, music, and friends.
What if we bypassed our desires to chase money, fame, and status, and focused on the simpler things in life? Perhaps this is a life hack, a shortcut to wealth, where the things we truly want, doesn’t actually cost nearly as much as we think it does. Herein lies a perspective which challenges our very motivations in our approach to work and life.
Conclusion
I hope you found value in this story as much as I did. This story was the paradigm shift that transformed the way I thought of wealth and success. It brought me to my most vulnerable state as I asked myself uncomfortable questions that challenged my identity and beliefs.
Our society defines success as more is better and money and status equals happiness. What the fisherman, and now the banker realized is that perhaps there’s more to it. And that, we must all define our own ideas on happiness and wealth.
