Two tales about sufficiency living: Enough is never enough

The first story went something like this:

Once, a very well-known executive went on holiday, his first in 20 years or so.

During the break, he met a fisherman and when he saw the day’s catch, the businessman praised him for the size and quality of the fish.

“How long did it take you to catch these fish?” the executive asked.

“Only a short while,” the fisherman said.

“Why didn’t you stay out there longer so that you could catch more fish?”

The fisherman replied: “Oh, I have enough to meet my family’s needs already.”

The executive wanted to know what he did with his spare time, then.

“Well, I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a nap with my wife and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends. I have a full and busy life,” the fisherman said.

The businessman thought the fisherman was wasting his time.

He told the fisherman: “I’m a Harvard MBA. I can help you. You should spend more time fishing. You will make more money and you can buy a bigger boat. Then you can catch more fish. You can sell the fish to buy more boats. In the end, you will own an entire fleet.”

The executive continued: “Also, you don’t have to sell your catch to a middleman. You could sell direct to the consumers. That would improve your margins. And you can open your own factory. You will control the product, the processing, and the distribution. Then you can leave this village and move to the city. You could expand your business in a really big way.”

The fisherman listened attentively. He went quiet for a moment and then asked: “How long would this take?”

The business executive responded: “Ten, 15 years. Perhaps 20 years at the most.”

“Then what will happen after that?” the fisherman wanted to know.

The executive laughed. “That’s the best part. When the time is right, you’d take your company public and sell all of your stock. You’d make millions.”

The fisherman asked: “Millions? What would I do then?”

The executive paused for a moment.

“You could retire, sleep late, fish a little, play with your children, take a siesta with your wife, and stroll into the village each evening to sip wine and play the guitar with your friends…”

The executive paused, then bid goodbye to the fisherman. As soon as he returned from vacation, he resigned from his position.

The second story was an account of something that actually happened to my friend:

When I was a student, my parents gave me a small daily allowance. I longed for the day when I could earn my own living and be free.

When I started to work, my boss was strict and the pay was low. So I wanted to become somebody’s boss so that I could be free to put my own subordinates on higher pay.

When I was promoted, the CEO was tough on me and gave me difficult assignments. I longed to be CEO myself so that I could run the whole company all by myself. Then I could be really free.

When I became CEO, the shareholders were very demanding. They wanted better bottom lines all the time. I decided that I wanted to have my own business so that I could be free to run it the way I wanted.

When I had own my business, my customers were very difficult to please. They always wanted better quality with lower prices. So I thought I would be better off being an investor.

When I became an investor, the bigger investors were always outperforming me. The economy was always changing. The big fund managers had more money than me to manipulate the market. So I decided to quit to earn income by depositing my money in the bank. I could be really free of all kinds of pressure.

By that time I was getting old and my health took a turn for the worse. Now I am beginning to be afraid of death. I thought I was free. But I was not free from fear.

My conclusion: Those who don’t appreciate the importance and relevance of “sufficiency lifestyle” don’t understand what “enough is enough” really means.