The Fisherman

admin — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 06:51:09 +0000

This is a story that a former manager had shared with me years ago (thanks, Mark!). I recently heard it again and I wanted to share it with you.

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

The Mexican 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 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 said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life, senior.”

The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

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

To which the American replied, “15-20 years.”

“But what then, senior?”

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 would make millions.”

“Millions, senior? Then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire. 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.”

Author Unknown

A Twist on "Suck It Up"

admin — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:53:25 +0000

Most people are familiar with the saying that, “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.” Like you, I heard it many times growing up. And I get where it comes from. We want others to succeed. We seek out great performances. We love celebrating victories.

However, most people are so focused on doing well that they’ve paralyzed themselves from even taking the first step and instead do nothing at all!

Picture this. A young boy sits in the living room of his house, eyes glued to the television set. He’s watching the final match of the 1985 Wimbledon Men’s Singles between Boris Becker and Kevin Curren. After an exciting and grueling four sets, which included quite a bit of leaping and diving across the court, Becker becomes the youngest Wimbledon champion at 17 years of age.

Becker’s amazing performance inspires the young boy to pick up a tennis racquet and step on the court for the first time. He tosses a ball into the air and swings for it, but instead of an incredible, low passing shot over the net, the ball lobs backwards over the fence surrounding the tennis court. Discouraged after such an embarrassing attempt, the boy walks home defeated. It would be another four years until I picked up another tennis racquet.

I placed such a high value on performing well that I’d forgotten that top performance is something that must be developed. How ridiculous was it for me to expect a perfect Wimbledon-worthy performance at 9-years-old! Yet that’s what most people do every day, talking themselves out of that new investment, or new career path, or new relationship. That’s why I much prefer this adaptation of the saying:

“Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly – at first.”

It’s not about perfection, it’s about PROGRESS. Progress comes from improvement. Improvement comes from doing better. To do better, you’ve first got to do poorly.

So here’s the new and improved game plan:

Just do it (i.e., get started)
Suck it up (i.e., naturally do poorly)
Learn from your sucking
Suck less next time

PS – Shortly after I started focusing on getting better rather than being perfect, I picked up a tennis racquet for the second time and soon made my high school tennis team for 3 years and eventually lettered. It wasn’t a Grand Slam cup, but looking back at how I’d progressed it felt outstanding!

PhilippLomboy.com » progress

The Fisherman

A Twist on "Suck It Up"