A rich American businessman stops by a small fishing town in Mexico during a business trip. While walking around the harbor, a fisherman sitting in a small boat full of fish attracts his attention. Curious, he approaches him and asks: "Hello, how long did it take you to catch all these fish?" The fisherman replies that he caught them all in one or two hours.

This time the businessman asks why he didn't stay longer and catch more fish. The fisherman replies that it was enough to support his family. The businessman curiously asks the fisherman how he spends the rest of his time. The fisherman tells him: "I go to bed late, catch some fish in the morning. Then I play with my children, at noon I take a siesta with my wife Maria. In the evening, I play the guitar and sing with the cheerleaders. I have a full and busy life, señor."

The American stretched and said, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you. You should spend more time fishing and get a bigger boat. With the income from this boat you can buy bigger boats. Soon you will have a fishing fleet. Then you can sell your catch directly to processing plants, not to middlemen. You can even build your own fish factory. You would be number one in the fishing industry. But in order to do that, you would first have to leave this small fishing town and move to Mexico City, then to Los Angeles and finally to New York where you could expand your holding."

The fisherman asks thoughtfully: "Well, señor, how long will all this take?" The American replies: "About 15-20 years." "And after that, señor?" the fisherman asks. The American laughs, "Now I will tell you the best part! When the time comes, you can take your company public and sell your company's shares for a good price; you will soon be rich and make millions! " "Millions..." says the Mexican; "So... Then what?" says the American, "Then you retire. You move to a small fishing town where you can sleep late, fish a little for pleasure if you like, have time to play with your children, take a siesta with your wife, and in the evenings play guitar and sing with the cheerleaders. How's that, isn't it perfect?"
The fisherman laughs, "Señor! I can already do what you say right now, why should I suffer for 15-20 years to have this peace again?"

I have read this story, which I quoted from Jozi Zalma's book "Salted Coffee", dozens of times and laughed out loud every time. It is a wonderful story that makes you laugh but also makes you think deeply...

One day, years ago, I watched an interview with the late Mr. Sakıp Sabancı at a Sunday breakfast. The reporter had photographed the modest breakfast table and counted the items on the table one by one, and asked Mr. Sakıp with surprise: "Do you have breakfast with only these people like us ordinary people?" His answer has stayed with me for years: "The length of this table could stretch from here (Istanbul Atlı Köşk) to Adana and thousands of kinds of breakfast foods could be placed on the table, but how much can the amount I eat change? Just one plate of food... How much can I eat? I wish I wasn't sick so that I could at least eat olives with their taste and salt! (she smiled pointing to the unsalted diet olives on the table)... After all, when two liters of water and a loaf of bread are enough to live, what a struggle we go through and what madness we go through to become nothing in the end, don't we? When life is not so long and there are no guarantees for tomorrow...

A very rich man dies suddenly one day. He doesn't even realize he's dead yet. He finds himself in a waiting room. As he looks around curiously, the man next to him asks him who he is: "I am a very rich man and the owner of so and so holding company." "Well," says the man next to him, "I need you just the same, can you lend me 5 million dollars? I'll pay you back very soon." The rich man brags: "No, no, you don't need to pay me back, I have a lot of money, I'll even give you a check for 10 million dollars." At the same time, he searches the pockets of his jacket, the front and back pockets of his trousers, but to his surprise, there is no trace of his wallet or checkbook... The man-looking angel sitting next to him says: "Oh, or did you think the shroud had pockets? But unfortunately it doesn't and now you are as poor as I am"...

Mukaddes Pekin Başdil

Researcher-Author

Kaynak: Denizli Haber