Recently at a keynote I shared with a group of leaders a story that allowed each of them to think about their choices and how those choices affected their lives. The story had a profound impact on them and I want to share it with you.
The story begins in a tiny Mexican village.
An American tourist complimented a Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.
“Not very long,” answered the fisherman.
“But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the tourist.
The fisherman explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The tourist asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife.
In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. I have a full life.”
The tourist interrupted, “I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can sell the extra fish and use the money to buy a bigger boat.”
“And after that?” asked the fisherman.
“When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!”
“Millions? Really? And after that?” asked the fisherman.
“After that you’ll be able to retire, live on the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends.”
As leaders we are always choosing and the choices we make may come from the idea that we must have the best job, the most prestigious title, the newest technology.
But in reality our deepest pleasures almost always come from the simplest source and life is asking us to choose – to choose with great insight because when we do we make it right.
So what do you choose?
Choose self. Find your purpose and put yourself in the center of it.
Choose living over doing. The smartest and the most courageous thing you can do is to live the life you want. It doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else but you.
Choose what is right over what is easy. If you desire to make a difference in the world, you must be different from the world. Don’t let the fear of difficulty guide you toward an easy choice when it comes to deciding your future.
Choose priority over pleasing. If you are busy pleasing everyone, you are not being true to yourself and you are not doing what is important to you. Nothing is worth more than knowing your priorities and acting on them. That’s success.
Choose to work less and have more. Don’t allow yourself to be caught up in working and dealing until you are too stressed and exhausted to enjoy your life and the people you love.
Choose heart over mind. Choose the heart of intuition, knowledge, understanding, and trusting in favor of the mind, which is analytic, reasonable, precise, logical, and exact, which is caught up in systems and processes.
Lead From Within: After all is said and done we are free to choose, but our choices that are worthy don’t always come from the activities or achievements that involve making money or creating business. It may just be centered around a sense of purpose and cultivating meaning.
Every day, everywhere, we are surrounded by positive things and precious people.
Will you choose to see them?
The choice is ours.
We only have one life to live. Choose your life carefully; choose with insight and make it right.
N A T I O N A L B E S T S E L L E R
The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness
After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.
Additional Reading you might enjoy:
- 12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
- A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
- How to Succeed as A New Leader
- 12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
- 4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
- The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
- The Deception Trap of Leadership
- Leadership Is By Choice, Not Chance
- Make A Difference: Lead With A Noble Heart
- Who Are You When No One Is Watching
- Live and Lead Without Regrets
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Of Lolly’s many awards and accolades, Lolly was designated a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc. magazine. Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of The Most Inspiring Woman in the World. Her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and others. Her newest book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness has become a national bestseller.
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35 Responses
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Sunil Jogdeo
02. Sep, 2014
Very inspiring Lolly. There goes this word `what next` when we start taking spiritual lessons in India..and finally we say `death` with many things remaining without proper enjoyment and with lot of stress still being relieved. People follow same old routine which is known to create lot of stress. Thank you so much.
lollydaskal
02. Sep, 2014
A great idea for a new blog post “WHAT NEXT”< Thanks for the inspiration Sunil! You are the best! Lolly
David Tumbarello
02. Sep, 2014
I am struck by the words in the story, “I can help you.” To me, when I hear those words, I caution flags. Sometimes help is necessary, like when the other person is in danger or stagnant or unhappy. If a person is in danger, we should help and bring the other person to safety. But in other cases, when someone is not in danger & making a choice that is different than our choice, we should be very careful about saying, “I can help you” because this is an instance of two people having different value systems. Before saying “I can help you,” have empathy and then figure out if the other person wants help. To me, that’s one of the many take-away’s from this story. Thanks!
lollydaskal
02. Sep, 2014
David,
People say “I can help you.”.. with the best of intentions.
When someone speaks to me I usually ask myself – is this about me or this about them?
When its about me I take it to heart when its about them- I listen with heart.
Thanks for your insightful comment. Wonderful thoughts David!
Lolly
Bill Benoist
02. Sep, 2014
Your story is a great reminder there is no luggage rack on the hearse, and to refocus on what we truly cherish most in our lives.
lollydaskal
02. Sep, 2014
There is no luggage rack on the hearse < TRUTH! (what a visual) Thanks so much for commenting Bill! YOU ARE THE BEST. Lolly
Terri Klass
02. Sep, 2014
It is true that what each of us choose to do with our careers and our personal lives may be meaningful to only us. But that’s ok if our choices are bringing fulfillment and growth. It is when we feel that we must follow a certain path to be valued, we can end up empty.
Lolly, I love the post and I love how you ask us the difficult question: What do we choose?
lollydaskal
02. Sep, 2014
We must always choose what is right regardless of what others think we should do.
If it feels right for us. Follow your heart.
Panteli Tritchew
02. Sep, 2014
Week by week, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment, we make choices. Our choices leave tracks. There is no off the record choice, for in their wake is our track record. Thank you, Lolly, for reminding us that it is our choice to choose wisely.
lollydaskal
03. Sep, 2014
As always Panteli you know exactly what to say and how to say it.
I always love reading your input, comments and thoughts.
They inspire me.
Lolly
LaRae Quy
02. Sep, 2014
Another great post, Lolly!
Love this: “But in reality our deepest pleasures almost always come from the simplest source and life is asking us to choose – to choose with great insight because when we do we make it right.”
Knowing what truly gives us meaning and value in life is the key to success 🙂
lollydaskal
03. Sep, 2014
Choosing with insight matters!
Thanks LaRae!
Lolly
Garren Fagaragan
02. Sep, 2014
Excellent timely post Lolly…
How do we choose what is right?
My partner has recently introduced me to Kinesiology -simpliflied.
With this tool…I’m able to bypass the analytical mind…and gain direct access to my innate wisdom.
It’s cool stuff…and I’ve found it quite handy to determine what choice is right…what is optimal for me.
Curious to hear what you and your readers use to make the right choices.
Thank you for another insightful post.
lollydaskal
03. Sep, 2014
Garren
I have used Kinesiology my whole life. It is a wonderful tool. Short cut to the heart it helps you bypass the mind…
Thanks so much for sharing. Hope all is well with you!
Lolly
Garren Fagaragan
07. Sep, 2014
That’s great Lolly.
I’m doing great! thank you.
I trust you are too.
blessings…
Garren
johnpaul
02. Sep, 2014
I choose Life!! 🙂 Thank you Lolly! Here is a little place along the pacific where everyone and every business stops in order to watch the sunset each day! Enjoy, http://bit.ly/1vKPfmL
lollydaskal
03. Sep, 2014
John great choice! LIFE.
And thanks for sharing the beautiful sunsets with us.
Appreciate you.
Lolly
Christopher Watkins
04. Sep, 2014
Thank you for a fine read; sort of a wonderful twist on a beautiful zen proverb (and I paraphrase here): Before I began, mountains were mountains and rivers were rivers; when I questioned deeply, mountains were no longer mountains and rivers were no longer rivers; and after I had finished, mountains were again mountains and rivers again rivers.
Thanks again!
Regards,
Christopher Watkins
Social Media Manager
fisherVISTA/HRmarketer
lollydaskal
04. Sep, 2014
I never heard that Zen proverb it is beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing Christopher. Stunning visual. Meaningful purpose.
sridhar laxman
05. Sep, 2014
Lolly
Thank you for another inspiring and important post
“Life is the sum of all our choices”
~ Albert Camus
I refer to this quote often in my coaching work to help clients develop insights on their current choices, decisions, actions and outcomes
Marek Wakulczyk
05. Sep, 2014
Always a great reminder. Thanks !
Ron Worman
05. Sep, 2014
It is so hard to say ‘Yes’ to Life, when Life is occupied with tomorrow. Perhaps we need to say ‘Yes’ to Today with acute awareness of what we are saying ‘Yes’ to, “No’ to, and ‘Maybe’ to. Perhaps the choices are overwhelming us because we do not have a filter (or scorecard)? How do you make choices Lolly? Do you have a scorecard? The Mexican fisherman in your story did.
Ron Worman
05. Sep, 2014
By the way, I acknowledge your “Choose” list. What I mean is how do you determine what is inside each of those elements? Most leaders I work with have a hard time determining what is inside those containers. For the fisherman, it was simple. His world view was not as complex as ours… He isn’t worried about long term medical care for our loved ones or ourselves, running out of money and becoming a burden to the family, etc…. I think our fears about tomorrow hinder our ability to live the life of the fisherman.
Paty Peterson
05. Sep, 2014
What an inspiring article. Thank you Lolly. Now to work on conquering the fear.
David Brooks
05. Sep, 2014
Lolly,
My wife Sandra and I are trying to do just as the fisherman and do more with less! Great post!
David Brooks
R LOHARIWALA
06. Sep, 2014
INSIGHT MOST OF US, WHO MAY BE READING THIS,HAVE BUT SKILL IS REAL CHALLANGE
skipprichard1
06. Sep, 2014
Full of great wisdom. The story requires a reassessment of our current path, our values, our goals. Inspiring.
Dawood Chishti
07. Sep, 2014
Live within the parameters of life. An honest advice from a loving heart. Thanks!
Jean
07. Sep, 2014
Lolly,
Great article! It’s very inspiring! I believe that to profit from a good coach and a good advice requires more wisdom than to give it. Thank you!
kassaye
08. Sep, 2014
Choose what is right over what is easy. If you desire to make a difference in the world, you must be different from the world. Don’t let the fear of difficulty guide you toward an easy choice when it comes to deciding your future. I agree with this !!
Jun Song
10. Oct, 2014
My question on one statement you made “Choose heart over mind” in the post “It Takes Great Insight To Choose What Is Right”: why do I get so hurt and my heart is even broken, when I followed my heart? Does a person who is fighting for survival have a right to listen to his/her heart? Or does this only suit those who already have no financial burden?
Thanks and appreciate your comments.