What we get wrong about the Mexican Fisherman Parable

[Two Dog]

I've heard this parable a couple of dozen times and actually just had my daughter read it again at Jimmy John's. Any story plastered across the walls of a popular sandwich chain can't be too top secret, but I've met surprisingly few people who have heard it over the years. It's a great parable and I really like Nathan Barry's interpretation and his takeaway. Honestly never thought of it that way myself, but am completely in agreement with him. Life is always about the journey, not the destination.

What we get wrong about the "Mexican Fisherman" Parable

What we get wrong about the Mexican Fisherman Parable

A book editor at a major publisher once told me how he reviews fiction book proposals. For non-fiction the standard is to submit a proposal, outline, and a sample chapter (usually the first chapter). But for fiction the author has to submit the complete manuscript.

nathanbarry.com

Nathan started Convert Kit in 2013 and has grown it to $25M ARR without outside investment (I'm pretty sure that's still true). He's a *really* bright guy and frankly kind of a wunderkind when it comes to making money. I haven't met too many people like him. He has an amazing ability to spend most - or all - of his work time doings things that further his goals. The personal crap that holds all of us back seems to have entirely skipped his DNA.

 

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[Andy Black]

I've heard this parable a couple of dozen times and actually just had my daughter read it again at Jimmy John's. Any story plastered across the walls of a popular sandwich chain can't be too top secret, but I've met surprisingly few people who have heard it over the years. It's a great parable and I really like Nathan Barry's interpretation and his takeaway. Honestly never thought of it that way myself, but am completely in agreement with him. Life is always about the journey, not the destination.

What we get wrong about the "Mexican Fisherman" Parable

What we get wrong about the Mexican Fisherman Parable

A book editor at a major publisher once told me how he reviews fiction book proposals. For non-fiction the standard is to submit a proposal, outline, and a sample chapter (usually the first chapter). But for fiction the author has to submit the complete manuscript.

nathanbarry.com

Nathan started Convert Kit in 2013 and has grown it to $25M ARR without outside investment (I'm pretty sure that's still true). He's a *really* bright guy and frankly kind of a wunderkind when it comes to making money. I haven't met too many people like him. He has an amazing ability to spend most - or all - of his work time doings things that further his goals. The personal crap that holds all of us back seems to have entirely skipped his DNA.

I don’t get it. Is Nathan saying the fisherman should do what the MBA guy suggests and undergo a 15-20 year transformation so he can be a “better” man when he finally spends time with his family and friends?

 

[biophase]

The problem with his article, if you want to relate it to the fisherman parable, is that the fisherman did not get to fish and spend time with his family during all those years of his supposed transformation.

If fishing and spending time with your family was your main goal, then all that work in the middle was a sacrifice for ultimately nothing.

The problem with the person who wrote the article is that he does not view working as a sacrifice.

 

[heavy_industry]

Moral of the story, as far as I can understand it, is don't choose arbitrary financial goals that have nothing to do with you.

Some people find meaning in a quiet life spent with their friends and family, while others are overachievers that find meaning in pursuing greatness.

Neither the fisherman nor the businessman are wrong. They both see life through a different lens, and thus they can't understand how is it possible to live like the other person, and see their life as absurd.

The fisherman cannot understand what's the point in creating an empire, and the businessman cannot understand how is it possible to "waste" your life fishing and not making millions.

Do what matters to you.

 

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[Noo]

I don’t get it. Is Nathan saying the fisherman should do what the MBA guy suggests and undergo a 15-20 year transformation so he can be a “better” man when he finally spends time with his family and friends?

He's saying that the fisherman should not listen to what the MBA told him to do, because it wouldn't change him one bit (through that journey)

 

[Andy Black]

He's saying that the fisherman should not listen to what the MBA told him to do, because it wouldn't change him one bit (through that journey)

I thought it was the opposite. Nathan seemed to be saying that the journey transforms people, whereas taking shortcuts to the destination doesn't?

 

[Mattie]

Moral of the story, as far as I can understand it, is don't choose arbitrary financial goals that have nothing to do with you.

Some people find meaning in a quiet life spent with their friends and family, while others are overachievers that find meaning in pursuing greatness.

Neither the fisherman nor the businessman are wrong. They both see life through a different lens, and thus they can't understand how is it possible to live like the other person, and see their life as absurd.

The fisherman cannot understand what's the point in creating an empire, and the businessman cannot understand how is it possible to "waste" your life fishing and not making millions.

Do what matters to you.

If the fisherman and businessman could see they both have opportunity to share their point of view, that both have wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, they could also make a plan to build a fisherman store, where you sell live bait, lures, fishing poles, life jackets, and all that jazz. Fishing is a highly demanded arena around the world.

Naturally, businessman relax of fishing tours, on their own fishing trips, and so the parable kind of doesn't really resonate with me personally.

Fish are fertile, the they lay a million eggs, produce caviar, oils, and we already know all the pro's and con's of the wild life, the fishermen, versus Business.

Your not always wasting your time fishing. It's a form of meditation, relaxation, and the waves calm your emotions, bring your emotions into balance, the objective of taking time out to rest from the business world.

It may be for an hour, a day, a month, or a year.

Fish are about abundance. They swim in schools, they provide nutrients, help the environment depending on what species.

Fishermen in ancient times fed their villages as they do today.

It depends on the fisherman or woman. Sure, there are some who float around just for fun and might not see the same point of a view of a business person. Then you have just as many businessman fishing around the world, inventing fishing lines that are more durable, poles, lures, and other equipment, vests, just so the fisherman or fisher woman can enjoy fishing a bit easier.

I mean we the original ways people fished in ancient times has advanced over the centuries.

Fishing itself on certain days can give you one fish or a pale of filled with fish. It depends on on the area, temperature, depth, what season, and you never do know until your out there who plentiful or abundant you maybe at the time with fresh fish.

If you have a bucket of fish, you can sell some to the village to feed others.

If you have one fish, you have enough to feed you a small snack for the day.

Then of course on the high seas you have fishermen that work hard every day for companies, so it is not always entirely true fishing is always a simple task of relaxation and meditation. The water can get quite rough at times.

Many parables can come from fishing around the globe. It's a beautiful sport for some, while it's a business adventure for others.

 

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[Noo]

I thought it was the opposite. Nathan seemed to be saying that the journey transforms people, whereas taking shortcuts to the destination doesn't?

I guess the fisherman in the end ""is the same person"" (he would want to accomplish the same dream in life with or without money), so I think the motto is that we should choose a journey that fits us (that we want to - not that someone else wants for us), and a journey that changes us.

 

[AnneC]

I don’t really resonate with this article.

The hero’s journey is essential to any good fictional story. But personal growth comes from within. Sure, there can be outside circumstances that challenge us and spark transformation. But those obstacles don’t need to come from working or making money. I think that, more often than not, they arise out of personal relationships.

I understand that he’s trying to say it’s about the journey and not about the destination. But if you’re already at your destination, why do you need to leave? There could be multiple paths to get to the same destination. Whichever road someone took will have taught them lessons along the way, even if it was shorter or easier than another person’s path. You could always choose to go to a new destination. But there’s nothing wrong with being content exactly where you are.

 

[Andy Black]

if you’re already at your destination, why do you need to leave?

I love this summary.

 

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[fastlane_dad]

There are pros/cons to both sides of the story - much akin to the slowlane / fastlane mentality we choose to buy into on these forums.

You can live your life for 'today' and choose simple pleasures, and don't put away anything for tomorrow ( I will figure it out as it comes). We know plenty of these people, and I might have been in that camp as well for a duration of my life.

Or you can work on building up your 'fastlane' business, have enough reserves to not worry about 'fishing' for the rest of your life - but you do have to sacrifice some things, for a duration of five, ten or fifteen years. The choice and the sacrifices are ultimately yours.

What's not shown many times in this story is the angst, anxiety and worry that the FISHERMAN has living his day to day life.

When GAS prices increase. When he's been priced out of the local housing market when it's time to upgrade. When you need to clothe your kids, or the unexpected dental or car repair bill comes. When his wife want's to splurge on a meal out. Or a vacation. Having 'just enough' does not permit for errors, catastrophes, or any unexpected events in your life.

When you are just living for today - it's a ticking timebomb waiting to explode. You can ignore it and be ignorant, but many times life will come and not be sympathetic to your specific circumstance.

 

[Noo]

There are pros/cons to both sides of the story - much akin to the slowlane / fastlane mentality we choose to buy into on these forums.

You can live your life for 'today' and choose simple pleasures, and don't put away anything for tomorrow ( I will figure it out as it comes). We know plenty of these people, and I might have been in that camp as well for a duration of my life.

Or you can work on building up your 'fastlane' business, have enough reserves to not worry about 'fishing' for the rest of your life - but you do have to sacrifice some things, for a duration of five, ten or fifteen years. The choice and the sacrifices are ultimately yours.

What's not shown many times in this story is the angst, anxiety and worry that the FISHERMAN has living his day to day life.

When GAS prices increase. When he's been priced out of the local housing market when it's time to upgrade. When you need to clothe your kids, or the unexpected dental or car repair bill comes. When his wife want's to splurge on a meal out. Or a vacation. Having 'just enough' does not permit for errors, catastrophes, or any unexpected events in your life.

When you are just living for today - it's a ticking timebomb waiting to explode. You can ignore it and be ignorant, but many times life will come and not be sympathetic to your specific circumstance.

I personally think you should just not live by what others tell you to. You should not have a house, kids, a MBA, a job, etc. because society expects you so. If you're happy, you're happy, and if you want to think about goals to be happy, or you want to focus on the journey to be happy, that's with you. I personally also think that focusing too much on the goals is the road to be unhappy. This is just a story that illustrates a very specific point. The point about not getting too much comfortable where you are right now should make another very good story

That being said, you're bringing awareness to another good point,ig.

 

[biophase]

That funny thing is that I was actually going to post about this parable a few weeks ago.

When I used to work a 9-5, I hated washing dishes. I would come home from work at 6:30, cook a meal and by the time I was done with my meal it was 7:30 and I didn't want to spend even 15 minutes of my valuable weekday time washing them. My dishes at home would pile up until both sinks were full and I'd reluctantly get to them usually on the weekends.

Now, I wash dishes daily because I have the time. In fact, I kind of look forward to washing them. A few weeks ago, I was wandering the house and I saw dishes in the sink and thought, oh cool, I have some dishes to wash. LOL

So it's come full circle. I used to have no time to wash dishes because I spent so much time at work, so I could make money, so I could retire early and have nothing to do, so I could wash dishes!

 

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[Noo]

That funny thing is that I was actually going to post about this parable a few weeks ago.

When I used to work a 9-5, I hated washing dishes. I would come home from work at 6:30, cook a meal and by the time I was done with my meal it was 7:30 and I didn't want to spend even 15 minutes of my valuable weekday time washing them. My dishes at home would pile up until both sinks were full and I'd reluctantly get to them usually on the weekends.

Now, I wash dishes daily because I have the time. In fact, I kind of look forward to washing them. A few weeks ago, I was wandering the house and I saw dishes in the sink and thought, oh cool, I have some dishes to wash. LOL

So it's come full circle. I used to have no time to wash dishes because I spent so much time at work, so I could make money, so I could retire early and have nothing to do, so I could wash dishes!

I see your point.
Never give up on yourself, btw! Best of luck!

 

[heavy_industry]

So it's come full circle. I used to have no time to wash dishes because I spent so much time at work, so I could make money, so I could retire early and have nothing to do, so I could wash dishes!

Yeah, apparently washing dishes is an all-time favorite for the ultra rich:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ3rFDPDKYk&ab_channel=AuthorEvents

 

[Bing]

Didn't @MJ DeMarco directly reference this in TMF ? Or am I thinking of Unscripted , or a post here?

I first read of The "Mexican Fisherman" Parable in The Four Hour Workweek (literally my first book to the Fastlane, TMF being the second). While I still see value in the underlying principle, I recall MJ continued the story with something like this:

One day a hurricane came and destroyed the fisherman's house and boat. It destroyed the reef and caused the fish to relocate. Because of his lack of planning the fisherman's life and family suffered greatly.

Yeah, not exactly a happy ending, but it explained the purpose of NOT living on the sidewalk (paycheck-to-paycheck).

Several of my childhood friends who are entrepreneurs (or "wantrepreneurs") who ask me for advice hear The "Mexican Fisherman" Parable, but then I also give them that conclusion. I do think the story is valuable because it makes you ask "what do you really want?" No one really wants $1 billion, they want the things having $1 billion provides. The money is only a means. But the conclusion is equally important if you care about your future self (and if you don't, you'll never get off the sidewalk).

For example: If your goal is to ski every day and you don't care about a nice car or house, working at the ski resort makes that a lot easier than saving $500 million and buying Vail. But MJ's "continued story" explains "don't be short-sighted". If your goal TODAY is to ski every day, but some day you might want to own a house, perhaps being a ski bum for two decades isn't a great way to get there.

 

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[ZF Lee]

That funny thing is that I was actually going to post about this parable a few weeks ago.

When I used to work a 9-5, I hated washing dishes. I would come home from work at 6:30, cook a meal and by the time I was done with my meal it was 7:30 and I didn't want to spend even 15 minutes of my valuable weekday time washing them. My dishes at home would pile up until both sinks were full and I'd reluctantly get to them usually on the weekends.

Now, I wash dishes daily because I have the time. In fact, I kind of look forward to washing them. A few weeks ago, I was wandering the house and I saw dishes in the sink and thought, oh cool, I have some dishes to wash. LOL

So it's come full circle. I used to have no time to wash dishes because I spent so much time at work, so I could make money, so I could retire early and have nothing to do, so I could wash dishes!

You must be my spirit animal lol.
Dishes...the bane of civilisation. Its one of the few things that make me revenge-procrastinate till it spills to other work as well. I somehow get to washing them for the day though, so they don't stack till weekend.

My only countermeasures to it are to eat takeaway, or to simply adjust cooking/washing.

For the first, takeaway costs A LOT when you track the costs. For the second, I stick to one-pot meals and start washing up the kitchen utensils while the pot is still cooking.

The second method doesn't leave me very happy...but it's better than ruining my guts with takeaway food or turning into a neckbeard.

 

[Andy Black]

You must be my spirit animal lol.
Dishes...the bane of civilisation. Its one of the few things that make me revenge-procrastinate till it spills to other work as well. I somehow get to washing them for the day though, so they don't stack till weekend.

My only countermeasures to it are to eat takeaway, or to simply adjust cooking/washing.

For the first, takeaway costs A LOT when you track the costs. For the second, I stick to one-pot meals and start washing up the kitchen utensils while the pot is still cooking.

The second method doesn't leave me very happy...but it's better than ruining my guts with takeaway food or turning into a neckbeard.

My dad was a soldier. He watched me doing the ironing one day and commented "If you're not enjoying it you're not doing it right."

 

[ZF Lee]

My dad was a soldier. He watched me doing the ironing one day and commented "If you're not enjoying it you're not doing it right."

I guess its just about mindful repetition until we do the work/chores automatically without hating it.

I've been wondering how I went about hating dishes.
Then I refer back to Atomic Habits...and it goes back to how we make things easy/difficult or attractive/disgusting to pick up as longtime habits.

When I was in college just a few years back, I had to live with dormmates who clearly showed their disgust for chores.

Sinks filled with dishes...dustbins filled with uneaten bread, open-faced...

So that rubbed off me with the unconscious message that chores were a negative thing to be somehow ashamed of. Even today, it's a stain I still fight to get rid of. But I will not say college was a great time to pick up life skills anew.

 

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[heavy_industry]

I guess its just about mindful repetition until we do the work/chores automatically without hating it.

I've found out that the only way to enjoy doing chores (if you cannot outsource them), is to actively try to do them well and do the best job that you can (instead of just going through the motions).

I guess it's a kind of mindfulness when you really focus on doing something wholeheartedly.

 

[Andy Black]

I've found out that the only way to enjoy doing chores (if you cannot outsource them), is to actively try to do them well and do the best job that you can (instead of just going through the motions).

I guess it's a kind of mindfulness when you really focus on doing something wholeheartedly.

^^^ Beat me to it.

Have you seen The Last Samurai? I liked the bit where he watched the local villagers doing *everything* to the best of their ability, including making tea.


I recall working in a warehouse as a teenager. Some of the older guys said “You’ll go far.” I didn’t understand why at the time. I realise now they were watching me doing everything to the best of my ability, so engrossed I wasn’t aware anyone was watching.

 

[heavy_industry]

Have you seen The Last Samurai? I liked the bit where he watched the local villagers doing *everything* to the best of their ability, including making tea.

I haven't watched it, but will do it in the future. Thanks for the suggestion.

There's this idea that how we do anything is how we do everything.
After Jocko Willink finished his military training, his first "mission" was to clean toilets. He did it to the best of his ability, and this attitude was noticed by others. If he took this rudimentary task so seriously, they understood that this was the guy to trust for real difficult situations.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBmVv2P-v2s&ab_channel=PragerU

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I'll drop this here...

Excerpt from Unscripted , written in 2017...

The "Mexican Fisherman" parable is missing the rest of the story. I wrote about it:

MINDSET - "Unscripted" Sub-Section of the Day

"Something is indeed something. For most people, it’s dismissed as life’s background noise. Others hear the whispers and bury it with weekend merriment. For the rest of us who aren’t easily manipulated, we question it. We seek its source, challenge its presence, and ask, 'What the hell is going...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[Two Dog]

I thought it was the opposite. Nathan seemed to be saying that the journey transforms people, whereas taking shortcuts to the destination doesn't?

He is saying that. It's a very different lesson than the parable itself which basically says taking an arbitrary, arduous journey to end up exactly back in your happy place is a stupid waste of life. I also agree with that. However, I'm not at all happy being The Fisherman. Doing the same thing day after day after day after day makes me both severely bored and depressed.

I couldn't possibly be fulfilled by The Fisherman's Life and pursuing it would be a stupid waste of life for me. So would blindly pursuing The Business Man's Plan. That's why "Ancora imparo" and "To thine own self be true" have been bedrock principles in my life for many, many years now. Life truly goes down the toilet when I forget them for too long.

My deepest joy and satisfaction comes from constantly learning and doing new things along with honoring two decades of habits that include my family, dogs, traveling, staying healthy, cooking, entrepreneurship, all of it. My take on Nathan's version is continuing to grow and learn more within those areas that I learned long ago keep me sane, healthy and happy. Completely new things like learning piano, paragliding and philanthropy are like bonus chapters in the book.

"I am still learning..." - misattributed to Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

The Death of Seneca by Peter Paul Rubens 1612-1615

www.maryellencarsley.com

 

[Two Dog]

The irony is that I came across my own post this evening about two weeks after deciding I too will build a $100M business. I didn't recall that number in the slightest until reading Nathan's blog post again. The shit that sticks in your subconscious is simply unreal.

I won't be working 90 hour weeks for half a lifetime to accomplish it though. That seems seriously dumb and pointless and is exactly what the original parable warns against. More like a well orchestrated, highly motivated side project for eight years that began 88 days ago. It's entirely about the WHY. That took several weeks to really clarify in my own head.

I don't want or need deca-millions of dollars and certainly wouldn't spend more than a tiny fraction of it over a lifetime on family and friends. It's just a number. Watch Mr. Beast on YouTube encourage his audience to participate in ludicrous money stunts while laughing at the absurdity of it all. It stopped being about "mo' money" to him ages ago.

So why bother at all?

I do want to teach entrepreneurship, support local charities in different parts of the country, pay a decent living wage to 2,200 people currently being completely screwed by Silicon Valley tech bros / VCs and have fun with my two kids growing a family owned business from zero dollars in revenue to $100M. Plus, I actually have the skills (mostly) and the experience (kind of) to pull it off (we'll see). The challenge motivates the hell out of me. Life is super exciting again. I'm putting tons of energy into all my favorite happy things along with the startup.

That's what Nathan means.

 

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[Two Dog]

But if you’re already at your destination, why do you need to leave?

It's the existential life question, right?

I starting asking this in my mid-twenties and took two decades to find an answer that was satisfying. My version was "If you're perfectly content with everything in your life, why should you continue trying to improve in any way?" Both of them are worthy goals but entirely at odds with other. The inherent paradox was endlessly frustrating to someone trying to figure out the best approach to just being happy.

How can you possibly be happy with your situation while constantly trying to change it?!? It makes no sense.

I finally came around to the correct (in my mind) perspective that the journey - not the destination - is the valuable part. It's the idea underlying the Japanese concept of kaizen ("good change" or "improvement"). The reality is that change is an inevitable part of life. The "Mexican Fisherman" is a fiction that can't exist for more than a brief moment in time. His family will get sick. His children will move away. The fish will die from climate change. He will lose his hearing and develop arthritis that keeps him playing the guitar. His mates will move to other towns.

Living your life the same way for a lifetime is a juggling act that requires constant change. How unexpected is that.