Thanks to Adam for the link:
Posted under Entrepreneur
This post was written by Jay on June 3, 2009
The MBA and the Mexican Fisherman… Too Comfortable?
The other day, I was having a conversation with my friend in which he stated: I feel like I’m not becoming the man that I want to be. That comment led me to consider my own situation. First of all, I should NEVER become that man I have always envisioned because I should always try to achieve more and become even better. The idea of that “perfect man” should evolve with my life and there should never be a set ideal. Second of all, what life is worth living once you have achieve perfection? No one will ever achieve perfection and no one should ever stop trying to be a better person.
Am I even on the right path to becoming this man? I honestly don’t know. I feel like I’m heading in the right direction but I’m getting too comfortable. I have the comfort of loving family/friends, not worrying about where my next meal comes from, a roof over my head, and the ability to choose what I want to do. I often think to myself, is having this kind of comfort so wrong? Part of me does think so. Here’s one of my favorite stories:
The MBA and the Mexican Fisherman
An American businessman was at a pier in a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow-fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied only a little while.
The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish?
The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked the Mexican how he spent the rest of his time.
The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, senor.”
The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and, with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution.
“You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But senor, how long will this all take?”
The American replied, “15-20 years.”
“But what then, senor?” asked the Mexican.
The American laughed, and said, “That’s the best part! When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public. You’ll become very rich, you would make millions!”
“Millions, senor?” replied the Mexican. “Then what?”
The American said, “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.”
So where am I trying to go with this post? Part of me believes that the fisherman can follow through with the MBA suggestion and become rich. In the process, he’ll be employing many people, helping the economy, and with his new riches he can help the less fortunate. Another part of believes that he is happy doing what he wants and he should continue life as is. Fortunately for me, it’s not my decision. At the end of the day, you’re the only person who can make that decision.
Posted under Entrepreneur
This post was written by Jay on September 8, 2008
My First Post
I’m not a good writer. I’ve never been good at converting my thoughts into words. As far my first post goes, I wasn’t really sure what point I wanted to get across. Making a personal blog has always been an interest of mine but I’ve I’ve been procrastinating on it. I finally decided to go ahead with one after reading Adam McFarland’s post today. By the way, here are the only four blogs that I ever read:
Adam McFarlend - Young entrepreneur and great blogger
Nev Blog - Neville is another young entrepreneur with unique ideas
Timothy Ferris - Best selling author of The Four Hour Workweek
Ramit - Provides good financial tips and strategies
Back to the subject at hand. My short term career related goals:
- Finish my MBA within two years and apply what I’ve learned to my businesses
- Make a steady income from my website www.perfectcomplements.com
- Spend more time volunteering
- Meet all four of the bloggers I wrote about above
My long term goals:
- Achieve a net worth over 1 million dollars by age 35 (Age 26 now)
- Have at least 3 companies pulling in 200k a year by age 35
- Build schools in China
These goals seem a little ambitious since I have less than 10 years to accomplish them. Without setting high goals, you’ll only limit yourself by believing that you can’t achieve them. Also, my long term goals mostly deal with building wealth. Many believe that money will not bring happiness and that rich people are selfish. I tend to believe the opposite is true. Rich people donate more money and they are generally happier because they don’t have to worry about where their next plate of food will come from. Becoming rich will only emphasis the kind of person you already are.
Hopefully, someday someone will read my blog and realize that I’ve taught them something and want to start their own blog and the process will continue to repeat itself. Till that day, I’m willing to share with you what I’ve learned, am currently learning, and will learn.
Posted under Entrepreneur
This post was written by Jay on September 8, 2008
www.jaylin23.com
Sigh, my other blog www.jaylin23.com got deleted and I have to start over. I’ll post by my old entries this weekend.
Posted under Entrepreneur
This post was written by Jay on September 5, 2008
