Fisherman's Philosophy {Insp}

"Fisherman's Philosophy"

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, looked up and said, "And
what do you think I'm doing right now?"
Received on Tue Dec 28 10:21:51 2004