Happy Easter

A fisherman pulls up at a wharf in his little boat with a good catch of fish.

Moments later a big-shot businessman swaggers over to him …

“Hey mate, how long did it take you to catch all those fish?”

“About three hours”

“Not bad. And what do you do for the rest of the day?” Asks the businessman.

“Well, after I go fishing for a few hours, I go home and have lunch with my family, followed by a nap in the afternoon. And then once or twice a week I catch up with a few friends for a quiet drink. I live a good life.”

To which the businessman replies …

“Well, I’m an investment banker and I reckon if you spent more time fishing, you’d catch more fish and make more money…

Then you could buy a bigger boat, catch a lot more fish, and make even more money…

Eventually you’d own a whole fleet of boats…

And instead of selling your fish on the wharf, you could open your own processing plant. You’d control the whole supply chain…

Then, as your empire expands you could buy a penthouse in the city and run your business from there…

And I reckon you could do it all in less than 10 years.”

“And then what?” asked the fisherman.

“Then you could sell your business on the stock market and make squillions. I’ll help you!” Bellowed the banker with a big grin on his face.

“And then what?” asked the fisherman.

“Then you could retire, move to a small fishing village, sleep in, do some fishing, spend time with your family, and catch up with your mates for a drink!”

What we want and what we need are sometimes two different things.

So how do you work out the difference?

It’s simple. Start with what you think you need and then ask ‘why’ you need it.

For example. Let’s suppose you want to send your children to a good school.

Why? Because you want them to get the best possible education.

Why? So they get a good start in life.

Why? So you know they’ll be ok in the future.

Bingo! There’s your answer.

Conclusion: are there other ways to make sure your children will be ok other than just a good education?

Of course, there’s heaps.

Here’s my point. You can apply this simple exercise to anything…health, career, relationships, money, retirement, whatever.

The best bit is you usually only need to drill down two or three layers to get your answer.

The question you start with and the answer you finish with may really surprise you.

You just need to keep fishing for your real ‘why’.

Happy Easter!

Adam

Back paddock: just when the caterpillar thought the world was coming to an end, it turned into a butterfly.

If Easter consists of two parts, a crucifixaion and a resurection, this would have to be the ultimate metaphor.