One day a fisherman was lying on a
beautiful beach with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary
line cast out into the sparkling blue surf.
He was enjoying the warmth of the
afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish.
About that time, a businessman came
walking down the beach trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He
noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this
fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself
and his family.
"You aren't going to catch many
fish that way," said the businessman to the fisherman, "you should be
working rather than lying on the beach!"
The fisherman looked up at the
businessman, smiled and replied, "And what will my reward be?"
"Well, you can get bigger nets and
catch more fish!" was the businessman's answer.
"And then what will my reward
be?" asked the fisherman, still smiling.
The businessman replied, "You will
make money and you'll be able to buy a boat which will then result in larger
catches of fish!"
"And
then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman again.
The businessman was beginning to get a
little irritated with the fisherman's questions.
"You can buy a bigger boat and
hire some people to work for you!" he said.
"And then what will my reward
be?" repeated the fisherman.
The businessman was getting angry.
"Don't you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all
over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!"
Once again the fisherman asked,
"And then what will my reward be?"
The businessman was red with rage and
shouted at the fisherman, "Don't you understand that you can become so
rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all
the rest of your days sitting on this beach looking at the sunset. You won't
have a care in the world!"
The fisherman, still smiling, simply
looked up, nodded and said: "And what do you think I am doing now?"
He then looked at the sunset, with his pole in the water, without a care in the
world.
