Once upon a time, A Canadian businessman took a paid leave and traveled to a small coastal village in Mexico. On his first day out of the office, he received an urgent work call which made him unable to sleep. He stepped out for a walk to clear his head. He came across a small boat at the shore. Inside the boat was a fisherman and he had caught several large tuna fish. The businessman was amazed and he praised this fisherman.
He then asked: "How long did it take you to catch these?"
"About an hour or so", replied the Mexican.
"Why don't you stay longer and catch more fish?", asked the Canadian.
"I have enough to support my family for a month and even give a few to friends", said the Mexican as he transferred the fish into a bucket.
"So what do you do with the rest of your time?", the Canadian asked.
The Mexican smiled and responded: "I fish a little, sleep late, I spend time with my wife and my kids. In the evenings I walk down to the city square and where I play the guitar and sip wine with my friends. That's quite a full and busy life, Sir"
To this, The Canadian laughed and replied: "I can help you. I happen to be a Harvard MBA. You can grow this into a business. You should spend more time fishing. Very soon with the proceeds, you'll get a new boat and then another till you have a whole fleet of boats fishing for you.
Rather than selling to a middleman, you can sell directly to consumers through your own cannery. Of course, you'll need to move from this small village to Mexico City, then to Los Angeles and eventually to New York to expand your business with the right management. "
The Mexican fisherman looking a little confused asked: "That sounds really nice but how long will all of this take, Sir?"
"About 15 - 20 years give or take. Maximum 25", replied the Canadian.
"But what next, Sir" asked the Mexican.
"That's the best part!" laughed the Canadian. "You'll then take your company public through what is called an Initial Public Offering (IPO). This means you'll sell your company to the public and become really rich!"
"Rich?? Sounds good, but then what next?"
The Canadian replied: "Then you will retire and move to a small coastal village where you'll fish a little, sleep late, spend time with your wife and your kids. And In the evenings you'll walk down to the city square to play the guitar and to sip wine with your friends..."
Have you ever asked yourself this question: "What Next?". Where are you going? Why are you doing what you do? Are you just going after things because others are? Do you want to achieve something just because it sounds good?
Without a clear vision, your life has no direction and your end will be destruction. What's your vision and purpose in life? Do you blindly move from one shiny object to the next? Is your resume full of incomplete initiatives you've started. You should be able to Focus on one thing for an extended period to be able to achieve anything worthwhile.
It's good to start a business, it's good to get a PhD, it's good write a book, to get good grades or anything other thing that is worthwhile. The question is: WHY? Why are you doing it. You may achieve that thing and come back full circle to where you started. What was the point then? Unless you have a clear WHY, don't just jump into anything.
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