🐠The Mexican Fisherman Parable & How The Meaning Has Changed For Me

My latest Youtube video is an animated retelling of the famous Mexican Fisherman Parable (written out below, if you haven’t heard it before).

When I first read this story in my early 20’s, I thought the fisherman had life all figured out while the American investment banker had totally missed the point and over complicated things.

Now I revisit the story as a slightly older young man, whose friends are starting to get married, have children, and move into the next stage of life, and I don’t think it’s as simple. Based on the Youtube comments on my video, it appears I’m not alone:

My response to the internet figure known only as @leopold17780 was this:

The generous Youtube community had more to say:

Then there’s my favourite:

It brings me back once more to the lack of clear cut answers in this ol’ world of ours. Our big decisions are rarely simple, yet life could quickly and easily be made more simple — a funny irony.

We commonly oversimplify our idea of the right way to live for our own benefit, and are challenged when our idea clashes with someone else’s, as is the case in the parable. Recalling my previous article on Fooled By Randomness, the point was made that we think almost entirely through heuristics (also known as rules of thumb). Just because we have ideas that feel clear to us, ways of navigating the world that make sense for us, this does not make these right for others.

I recently decided I would never again visit the lesser ‘developed’ countries of the world where I continually get sick — most parts of Asia, Africa and South America. This is a rule-of-thumb — I’m perfectly comfortable visiting Japan or the UAE, and I could also go to any country and simply not eat, but am unlikely to do so. There’s only so many bouts of diarrhoea a man with a sensitive stomach like man can endure — the risk is just not worth it for me. Yet friends from these parts of the world insist that their country is worth visiting, that they can keep me healthy. The plan right now is for all of us to die wondering… 😂

Both the American Investment Banker and Mexican Fisherman do their version of this. The Investment Banker thinks commercially on the Fisherman’s behalf, while the Fisherman keeps things simple. It’s hard if not impossible to disprove either, to say one is more right than the other. To me, it depends entirely on the individual.

The other question I ask myself is, how much of their response gets dictated by individual choice versus culture? Have they simply inherited their ways of thinking from the time, place and circumstances they were born into?

My hope for now is firstly to strike a balance between the two perspectives — in the last ten years, I’ve bounced back and forth between the American Investment Banker and the Mexican Fisherman. I’ve always fancied myself as more of a Mexican Fisherman, but as the years tick I see more and more value in this ‘money’ thing people talk about, finding means of being practical that aren’t entirely soul-sucking.

My second hope is to offer barely little (if any) advice or strong opinions on what others should do — in saying that, it’s still perfectly fine to open the odd Door, maybe with a parable or two.

Watch the Video:

The Parable

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.  Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin 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, “but 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 siestas 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.” 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 New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

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

“But what then?” 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 and become very rich, you would make millions!”

“Millions – 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 siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

About the Writer

I’m Joe Wehbe! I’m (currently) an author, podcaster, Youtuber and Real Estate Man/Property Manager, who enjoys people-watching, capturing the human condition and having a laugh.

The thing I’m most excited about at time of writing is my upcoming book with Paul Rowse, Holy Sh!t, It’s Only… Tuesday? — a fiction book, satirising the workplace and our need to feel important, written over two years and coming soon!