Know where you want to go.

Another e-mail inspired blog about how we sometimes make things more difficult than we need to: “A boat was docked at the landing point in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman nearby on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them. "Not very long," answered the Mexican. "But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American. The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family. The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" "I sleep late, go fishing 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, play the guitar, and sing a few songs... I have an eventful but relaxed life." The American interrupted, "Well, I have a MBA from Harvard and PhD from California University, and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat." "And after that?" asked the Mexican. "With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your new enterprise which is big." "How long would that take?" asked the Mexican. "Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American. "And after that?" "Afterwards? Well my Friend, That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!" "Ooops! Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the Mexican. "After that you'll be able to retire, retreat to a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings doing what you like, listen to music and enjoying with your friends." "With all due respect sir, but that's exactly what I am doing now. So what's the point wasting twenty-five years of my life with all that hassle you just mentioned?" said the happily smiling Mexican. Moral: Know where you're going in life... you may be there already......!!! Although the above story is just that a story, apparently Morgan Freeman the Actor feels the same way. Recently I read on a web site that said, “He was born in Memphis and grew up in the Mississippi Delta region, moving back to open his blues club, Ground Zero, and a restaurant in Clarksdale in 2001. In a 2005 interview with CNN, he said returning to the area was "one of the smartest moves I've made in life." "My aim in life, when I graduated from high school, was to get out of Mississippi," he said. "I started coming back in about 1979, because my parents moved back, which I couldn't understand. What in the world would make you come back here? It took me about 20 years to figure that out."

As said at the beginning and as the story and Morgan’s input shows, we sometimes go to a lot of trouble don’t we, just to end up where we already were, so doesn’t it make more sense to recognise and appreciate what you already have and not risk loosing it all, to get what you basically already have?

So today as you look around you at what you are chasing and what you already have, are they already the same as for Morgan and our Mexican friend above? Or are you still Like the American MBA?

Yes do look around at what you already have and decide whether it is really worth loosing it to chase something that is basically the same but may cost you 25 years or more of your life, plus many wasted or lost relationships in the process. Over to you for your reflection now.