Recently, a friend reminded me of the story of the tourist and the Mexican fisherman. If you haven’t heard it, the gist is this:
A tourist with a Harvard MBA meets a fisherman who is content to sleep late, fish a little as a livelihood, play with his children, take siesta with his wife, and stroll into the village each evening to sip wine and play guitar with his amigos.
The tourist then describes a way the fisherman can grow his business, issue an IPO, and make millions. On the question of “what then,” the tourist tells the fisherman: “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."
You may wonder, how does this apply to your life?
In reality, you, along with many other mid-life individuals, have a career to attend to. Chances are that you also find time for other things – including a little time to sip wine with your amigos. Still, if you are entertaining the idea that the real rewards in life will come at the end of your career, you may end up in a retirement that is less than fulfilling.
In his book, How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free, Ernie Zelinski provides advice on how to have a meaningful quality of life in retirement. In an earlier book, The Joy of Not Working, he made a case for the zestful use of leisure time, whether you are currently employed or not. Interestingly, as in the story of the fisherman, much of the advice he offers in his retirement book is very similar to what he offered in his earlier book.
So, if you can imagine all of the things you want for your life someday, I’ll bet you can find a way to live some of those dreams now!
Contact me if you want to create a plan to start living your dreams now.
Comments