and no, I'm not a fisherman .....just a fun email I received


*LIFE EXPLAINED BY A GREEK*

A boat docked in a tiny Greek village. An American tourist complimented
the Greek fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took
him to catch them.
"Not very long," answered the Greek.
"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the
American. The Greek explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet
his needs and those of his family.
The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with
my wife. In the evenings I go into the village to see my friends, dance a
little,
play the bouzouki, and sing a few songs. I have a full life."
The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you.
You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra
fish you catch. With the revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the
extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a
third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.
Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can negotiate directly
with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant.
You can then leave this little village and move to Athens, Los Angeles or
even New York City! From there you can direct your huge enterprise."
"How long would that take?" asked the Greek.
"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.
"And after that?" "Afterwards?
That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing.
When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make
millions!"
"Millions? Really? And after that?"
"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the
coast, sleep late, play with your grandchildren, catch a few fish, take a
siesta with your wife, and spend your evenings singing, dancing and playing
the bouzouki with your friends".

 

 

Wait, how about the part where he purchases an S2000 and drives the wife and then each of the grand kids one at a time around the village in VTEC?

i really liked that. Thanks.

 

thats awesome. thanks for sharing

 

Dude, my buddy will love that one

 

Sooo true! Nice one.

 

me likey

 

good stuff

 

Are you approving your own thread

 

hate to be the fly in the punch bowl but the important thing the MBA left out is that by only fishing enough to sustain his current happy state of life, he is not building up a nest egg for any contingencies. what happens if he gets ill and isn't able to fish for a season? or if his boat sinks? what happens to his family if he goes down with his boat?

perhaps in that little village, the local residents will step in and help them out... but will they support his wife and kids forever? and in the US, it's so highly competitive that there is no such "village safety net"... unemployment benefits aside.

that's what having excess income does-- it smooths out the bumps and dips in life; the scary ones, not the fun ones. and as people grow more wealthy, they find that they are able to smooth out other bumps-- not just the scary ones that threaten the family, but also the little annoyances, the tedium, etc.

if I was flat broke, I'd work my butt off at minimum wage to try to afford a beat up car. that beat up car would allow me to get to job opportunities farther away, so now I'm making more. and now I can save up and go to a trade school, or maybe college. and with my newfound training I can afford a car that starts up every time, and isn't as likely to leave me stranded. and the smarter/harder I work the more I can save, and so maybe now my car isn't just a form of transportation, but is actually a form of entertainment, and a reflection of my newfound success and my appreciation for excellence.

like an S2000.

(and of course have saved $ along the way should life take a turn for the worse.)