Enough
The Mexican Fisherman and Knowing When You Have Enough
“The Mexican Fisherman” is a short parable that might completely change how you look at your life. I first read it in The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss when I was probably around 15 or 16 years old (31 at the moment) and barely thought about it. Then I grew up a bit…
Here’s a gist of the story
There is a Mexican fisherman who lives in a small coastal village. Every morning he goes out, catches just enough fish for the day, and comes back in early. The rest of his time is simple. He sleeps in, plays with his kids, takes a nap with his wife, and at night he drinks wine and plays guitar with his friends.
One day a visiting businessman sees him come in with his catch and asks why he does not stay out longer. He tells the fisherman he could catch more fish, buy a bigger boat, hire people, build a whole fleet, and turn it into a huge company.
The fisherman listens and then asks, “Okay, and after that?”
The businessman says that after many years of hard work he could finally sell the company, make a lot of money, retire to a small coastal village, and spend his days sleeping in, fishing a little, playing with his kids, napping with his wife, and drinking wine with his friends in the evening.
The kicker here is that the life the businessman is glorifying for his future is the life the fisherman is already living right now. It makes you wonder… do you really need to keep moving the goalpost, or do you already have enough to live the life you actually want?
I Was The Businessman In That Story
For years, I was the businessman in that story. Guilty as hell. I was laser focused on making more money, getting to that next target, always moving the goalpost and looking for something bigger. And you know, it felt normal. You hear about Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and we glorify them for their wealth. But if you really look at their lives, is that what you want? I never even considered what “enough” looked like, I just felt like I wanted more.
Life Has Seasons
I believe our lives have seasons. Shout out to Sahil Bloom, I first heard this idea from him and it stuck with me.
20s = Risk On. Work Hard.
I think your 20s should be about grinding and working your ass off. Get a lot of experience, learn a ton of things, experiment, fail. You likely have minimal responsibilities at this stage, so going broke, working insane hours, and taking big risks is not as scary.
This is also where the magic of compounding changes your future. The money you put away in your 20s gets the most time to grow. I think the simplest move for most people is putting as much money as you possibly can into a low-cost index fund and letting that money compound.
30s = Work Hard, But Ease Off The Gas A Little
I think your 30s are still about working hard, but you can take your foot off the gas a little bit here. This is “get your shit together” season.
If you want a family, it will probably happen in this season. You should start thinking about a life that is bigger than work. Relationships, health, where you live, and how you actually want your days to feel, not just what you earn.
40s And Beyond
I have not reached my 40s yet, so I can’t really speak on it from experience. But I would imagine the theme will keep pushing from “How Do I Get More” to “How Do I Protect My Time” and live an enjoyable life.
What Really Matters: Defining Enough
It’s funny, we all want more. But most people I know have never really thought hard about what’s “enough” for them. It’s just always more than what they already have and they keep moving the goalpost forever.
In my opinion, one of the best lines from The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel is where he defines freedom, which is what we all want, right? He states, the “highest dividend money pays is the ability to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as long as you want.”
When you look at your life from that perspective, your priorities shift from “How do I get some giant number in my bank account?” to things like:
- Can I go on a trip with my friends (and not have to ask permission from anyone)?
- Can I say no to a project that might make me money, but that I have no interest in working on?
- Can I show up for my family when they need me?
While the Mexican fisherman may seem to lack ambition, he’s already got most of that figured out.
Doing Things Before It’s Too Late
We all walk around like we have unlimited time, but we don’t. Your knees will not always let you hike that mountain. You will not always feel like going on that long run. Your parents will not always be a phone call away.
So a lot of the stuff we say we’ll eventually do one day has an expiry date and many of us pretend not to see it.
We’ve all been guilty of saying, “I’ll do this trip once this happens,” or “I’ll spend more time with family once I get this promotion…” falling into the trap of the businessman again, sacrificing today for some perfect future someday.
The Mexican fisherman parable serves as a reminder that a lot of what we want to do someday can be done right now. So, what’s stopping you from living some of that life stuff right now?
What I’d Tell My Younger Self
If I could go back and talk to my younger self, I wouldn’t tell him to stop working hard. I would still tell him to work a lot, to take big risks, to invest, and live frugally.
But I would also tell him this: “You are allowed to enjoy life while you build it. Say yes more. Enjoy college a bit more. Stop thinking of everything in terms of ROI. Take that trip.”
The Mexican fisherman is not about never working. It’s about not postponing your entire life until you reach some imaginary finish line (trust me, it’ll keep changing). Do the work. Build the life. But remember you’ve got to live it along the way.