Tag: story

The Businessman and the Fisherman

One of my favorite stories of all time….

The Businessman and the Fisherman

An American businessman took a vacation to a small coastal Mexican village on doctor’s orders. Unable to sleep after an urgent phone call from the office the first morning, he walked out to the pier to clear his head. A small boat with just one fisherman had docked and inside the boat were several large Yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican of the quality of his fish.

“How long it took you to catch them?” The American asked.

“Only a little while.” The Mexican replied.

“Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” The American then asked.

“I have enough to support my family’s immediate needs and give a few to my friends,.” The Mexican said.

“But,” The American then asked, “What do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a 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 you buy a bigger boat, and 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 consumers, eventually opening your own can factory. 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?”

To which the American replied, “15-20 years.”

“But what then, senor?”

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO (Initial Public Offering) and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”

“Millions, senor? Then what?”

The American said slowly, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos…”

The Story of The Businessman and the Fisherman


What Goes Around Comes Around

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.

There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman’s sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

“I want to repay you,” said the nobleman. “You saved my son’s life.”

“No, I can’t accept payment for what I did,” the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer’s own son came to the door of the family hovel.

“Is that your son?” the nobleman asked.

“Yes,” the farmer replied proudly.

“I’ll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he’ll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.” And that he did.

Farmer Fleming’s son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman’s son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.

What saved his life this time? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill . His son’s name?

Sir Winston Churchill.

Someone once said: What goes around comes around.

This is a very nice story I wanted to share. Really gets you thinking! Unfortunately, the path Alexander Fleming took to his place in history did not include the chance encounter described above. So yeah, this is just a chain letter that was drafted up very well. But either way, take what you will from this, hopefully something positive, and just make someone else’s day brighter today.

karma-police-what-goes-around-comes-around

Three Skills – the unexpected skills you need in life

Vince graduating from SDSU and the school of hard knocks with skills like no other With all the adventures and stories I’ve had this far in my life, both professionally and personally, I’ve come to find that there are three skills not taught in school, that have always made life easier for me. These skills have helped me stand out in positive ways and I think everyone should take the time to better themselves in these three little areas:

  1. Storytelling – Everyone LOVES a great story teller. It’s a wonderful way to capture the attention of an audience, whether you’re a talking to an entire auditorium, or just to your friend. The secret to telling eventful stories fall under your expressions.
    • Being able to connote the right feeling at the right time with a simple tone adjustment of your voice is often overlooked. Speak softer when you’re just building up the story then speak louder when you’re talking about the climactic finale of your story. “The princess walked into the dimly lit room then BOOM! OUT OF NOWHERE COMES THIS CRAZY MONKEY!”
    • Don’t be afraid to exaggerate for the sake of good story telling. Saying that was “THE BEST BURGER IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE” gets the point across much easier than simply saying it was a good burger. Even though it would be difficult to prove that that burger is in fact better than the ones they serve on Saturn…
    • Pause… while speaking… people take for granted the power of silence. Take your time… try it out… you’ll notice that you’re much more engaging to listen to if you pause when you speak. It makes what you’re saying more momentous. But don’t overdo it and be sure to still be within a time frame where people will listen to you.
  2. Writing – Who would’ve known that writing would be an important factor for both my professional and personal life? It’s such a big part of me now and I have no clue how I would survive without being able to express myself this way. Some tips for writing…
    • If you think what you’re writing is boring, your readers will think so too. Make sure you like what you’re writing so that your readers will like it too.
    • Get to the point! We’re in a world of Twitters and Twitterers. Keep it short and move on. I have a million other things to read…
    • The more you write, the better you will be at writing. The more you read, the better you will be at writing. Read lots of books. Word on the street is that you get smarter when reading too…
  3. Smiling – Really! Never underestimate the power or being nice. Everyone, everywhere, at any time, is going through a battle within their lives that you may or may not know of. The power of being positive and uplifting is one that is compounded and spreads much further than you can ever imagine.
    • When you ask someone, “How are you?” Mean it, and actually listen for their response.
    • Don’t be shy, go up to someone and say hi. Chances are that they wanted to do the same thing, but were too shy to do so.
    • Did I mention that you should smile…? =)

What are some unexpected skills that you’ve noticed coming in handy…?