"It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere."
- Agnes Repplier
A story:
An American businessman was at the pier of a small Caribbean coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna.
The businessman complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The fisherman replied, "only a little while." The businessman then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish.
The fisherman 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 fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play the guitar with my friends; I have a full and busy life, sir."
The businessman scoffed, "I'm 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 a larger city, then L.A., and eventually New York where you will run your expanding enterprise."
The fisherman asked, "But senor, how long will this all take?" To which the businessman replied, "15-20 years."
"What then, senor?" The businessman 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, senor? "Then what?", asked the fisherman.
The businessman 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 a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar."
The fisherman responded to the businessman, "That's what I am doing now without going through the effort for another 15 - 20 years. Why should I struggle to get the same which I am already having now in my life?"
Interestingly, the businessman had no answer for that!
One moral: The difference between "happy" and "have" is one of the hardest lessons in life to learn.
“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.”
- Denis Waitley
So, some questions for self-reflection are:
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What makes you happy? If it's "stuff," when do you think you'll have the right amount of stuff?
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Are you currently "happy" with what you have achieved and with where you are in your life? Why/why not?
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Are you happy with who you are? And, by the way, who are you? Are you your achievements, your stuff, your net worth…or something else? Who would others say you are?
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Who might you be without all your stuff?
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Some say happiness is an "inside job." What do you think?
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There is a difference between being "wealthy" and being "rich". Any idea what that difference might be?
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What thoughts or feelings do you have that diminish your experience of happiness?
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What was being happy like for you and your family when you were growing up?
"It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. ...I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing."
- Oriah Mountain Dreamer
About Peter G. Vajda, PhD.
 Peter Vajda is a founding partner of SpiritHeart, an organization that is available to support your leaders, managers and supervisors with one-on-one and team coaching focusing on internal leadership and management practices that result in a workplace culture and environment that reflects integrity, trust, respect, fairness, meaning of work, a sense of family and community, and organizational health and well-being.
SpiritHeart's focus is on the interpersonal skills that enable individuals to work together productively with a high level of personal and professional satisfaction. This "soft skills" focus supports leaders, managers and supervisors to effectively lead, manage, supervise, encourage, teach, guide, and coach others...unhampered by interpersonal issues that create barriers to a harmonious, pleasant, and productive workplace culture and environment.
Website: www.SpiritHeart.net | Email: pvajda@spiritheart.net
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