Enough?

I want to share a story that starts out the book The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work by Simone Stolzoff.

A businessman is sitting on the beach of a small fishing village when he sees a fisherman approach the shore with his daily haul. Impressed by the quality of the fish, the businessman asks the fisherman how long it took him to bring in his catch.

“Oh, just a short while,” the fisherman replies.

“Why don’t you stay out longer to catch more fish,” the businessman asks.

“Because this is all that I need.”

“But then what do you do with your time?”

“I sleep late, catch a few fish, play with my kids, take a nap with my wife, and then join my buddies in town to drink wine and play guitar,” the fisherman responds.

The businessman is shocked. He explains that he has an MBA, and that if the fisherman follows his advice, he could help him grow his business. “You could get a bigger boat,” the businessman says, “and then use the proceeds to open your own cannery.”

“Then what?” the fisherman asks.

“Then you could move to the city to open a distribution center.”

“And then what?”

“Then you could expand your business internationally, and eventually take your business public,” the businessman said. “When the time is right, you can sell your shares and become very rich!”

“And then what?”

“Well, then you can retire, move to a small fishing village, sleep late, catch a few fish, play with your kids, take a nap with your wife, and then join your buddies in town to drink wine and play guitar.”

The fisherman smiles at the businessman and continues down the beach.

Adapted from a German short story from 1963

The parable points to the uniquely American worldview that MORE, producing more, making more, doing more is the way to the best life. Who seems crazier, the businessman or the fisherman? Each of us can have a different answer to that question.

Stolzoff’s book, and this post, ask each of us, how much is our life defined by the output of our work? It’s not inherently bad to want a good paying, enjoyable job. We need it to survive. But too often we are focused on adding a little more to reach that next rung on the ladder, assuming that then we can say “we made it”. Except that never happens because there is never an end.

Today’s the day to think about your self definition and your job. How intertwined are they? Is your life spent balanced in some fulfilling way?

By the way, I highly recommend Stolzoff’s book.

You can sign up to receive my blog posts by email. Click the “follow” button on the right. I promise not to bombard you with emails.