An American businessman, visiting a Mexican coastal village, encountered
a fisherman on the dock unloading his stash of tuna for the day. The businessman
asked him how long it took him to catch them. The fisherman said, “Just
a little while.”
The businessman then asked why he didn’t stay out longer and
catch more. The fisherman responded he didn’t need more: he’d caught
enough for his family’s needs.
“But what do you do now, with all your time?” asked the
businessman.
“I take a nap, I play with my children, take siesta with my
wife, walk to the village in the evening, sip a little wine, and play music with
my friends,” said the fisherman.
The American scoffed. “I’m a Harvard MBA and could help
you. You should spend more time fishing and buy a bigger boat. You could buy a
fleet of boats, open a cannery, and control the product, processing, and distribution.
You would need to move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, and eventually New York,
where you would run your enterprise.”
The fisherman asked how long all that would take “About 20
years. And then you could sell your stock and become a millionaire.”
“But what then?” asked the fisherman.
“Then you could retire, move to a coastal fishing village,
fish a little, nap a lot, play with your kids, enjoy time with your wife, and
go to the village at night to play music with your friends.”
Assumption vs. Imagination
Underpinning every action we take is an assumption. The phrase “you
can’t fight city hall” comes from an assumption of personal powerlessness
and bureaucratic impenetrability. It is neither true nor empowering, but many
people believe it. And once we buy into a belief that supports our own powerlessness,
something dies in us. The excitement of experiencing ourselves as creators of
our circumstances turns to a fear of being victims.
To be thought leaders, we need to be free and original thinkers,
focusing on how we are thinking as well as what we are thinking. Indian philosopher
Sri Aurobindo said, “In order to see, you have to stop being in the middle
of the picture.” We have to put some distance between ourselves and our
thoughts, so we can assess their heritage and test them for authenticity. As leaders,
we must do the deep and personal work of clarifying our own thoughts, so that
when we speak, every word has a ring of clarity, purpose, and authenticity. PE
