The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman
What if that future version of you wants exactly what you already have?
We spend most of our lives optimizing for a future we think will make us happy. We climb ladders, chase promotions, and build empires—all in service of some distant version of ourselves who will finally have time to enjoy life. But what if that future version of you wants exactly what you already have?
There’s a parable that captures this perfectly:
An American businessman visits Mexico and meets a local fisherman. The American was shocked to learn the fisherman only works a few hours a day.
“What do you do with the rest of your time?” the American asks.
“I sleep late, hang out with my family, read, take naps, and play guitar with my friends,” the fisherman says.
“You are doing this all wrong. I have an idea,” says the American. “You should work all day. Borrow money and buy another boat. Hire more fishermen to work for you. You could make so much money that you will be retired in ten years.”
“What would I do in retirement?” the fisherman asks.
“You could sleep late, hang out with my family, read, take naps, and play guitar with my friends,” says the American.
The fisherman already retired. He was living the life the businessman was working toward, except he didn’t need to sacrifice a decade to get there. The irony is perfect, almost too obvious—and yet we miss it constantly in our own lives.
A life worth living isn’t always the one that looks most impressive from the outside. Sometimes it’s the one that lets you sleep late, spend time with people you love, and play guitar with your friends. The fisherman understood something profound: you don’t need to earn the right to live well. You just need to recognize when you already are.