by caser on 5/24/23, 11:18 PM with 48 comments
by zamnos on 5/25/23, 1:28 PM
An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, “only a little while. The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican 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 Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.”
The American scoffed, “I am 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 Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”
To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.”
“But what then?” Asked the Mexican.
The American 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 – then what?”
The American 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 siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
-Dr. Faisal Jamshaid
by laratied on 5/25/23, 12:03 PM
My dream is to move to a different country that people who think like this are far away geographically.
by stonekyx on 5/25/23, 8:36 AM
That being said - From time to time I do regret chasing my old dream, but I guess I’d only be more regretful if I didn’t. It’s ok to give up! But maybe at least give it a try.
by timonoko on 5/25/23, 10:41 AM
by circlefavshape on 5/25/23, 9:17 AM
To me dreams are like religion - the longer it is since you gave up on them the crazier it seems that you ever believed. A dream is just some story you've made up, with you as a protagonist, and pursuing a dream means trying to bend reality to match that story, and then being pissed off because you can't
by musicale on 5/25/23, 6:08 AM
by lastangryman on 5/25/23, 6:28 AM
It's funny how the spark of an idea and excitement can fade once the reality sets in and doesn't match what was in your head. Endlessly plugging away at it, trying force the outcome you want through sheer will can be quite exhausting and defeating.
One surprising take away for me was that I missed having other people involved (it was a software project). Just having other people to be accountable to or some sort of other stakeholder that can help share the mental burden I think is key for the days when you feel unsure of the direction or purpose. I've done exactly what the article says and taken a step away for now, but hope to come back to it with a different approach and hopefully others involved.
by techisneat on 5/25/23, 6:29 AM
by aatd86 on 5/25/23, 11:33 AM
There is no single path. But diversify to mitigate risks of failure.
One goal might lead to another more comprehensive one.
by em-bee on 5/26/23, 1:05 AM
i can support that. in pursuit of some dreams i had to give up others. some dreams i keep in mind, ready to pursue them if an opportunity opens up. but until then i focus on others that are actually reachable right now.
like when moving to china i stopped playing music (because i could not find people to play with, though later i actually did find some), but when i have to leave china, i can get back to playing music. that dream is not lost, it just took a back seat to other dreams. i have to choose which dreams are more important at the moment, but i don't have to completely give up a dream (i kept my music instruments and occasionally even practiced, so when the opportunity to play came, i was able to take it), nor do i force myself to follow a dream that seems impossible to reach at the expense of others that are in front of me.
by alexalx666 on 5/25/23, 9:36 AM
by tpoacher on 5/26/23, 9:38 AM
Because once you examine it, it typically boils down to "well, ok, healthy X is healthy, but unhealthy X is unhealthy", at which point it's a tautology and totally useless advice, and probably serves more to promote a bias or an agenda than anything else.
But because people like platitudes, they omit the "if healthy elif unhealthy" part, and effectively lump the whole X onto one category that they feel more biased to, with a hidden 'caveat emptor' clause.
It's the same here.
Pursuing dreams is unhealthy -> Pursuing healthy dreams is healthy, but pursuing unhealthy dreams is unhealthy.
Vegan food is healthy -> Healthy vegan food is healthy, but unhealthy vegan food is unhealthy.
Exercise is healthy -> Healthy exercise is healthy, but unhealthy exercise is unhealthy.
Sex is healthy -> Healthy sex is healthy, unhealthy sex in unhealthy.
Liberals/Republicans are assholes -> Asshole liberals/republicans are assholes, non-asshole liberals/republicans are not assholes.
I dunno, it's just getting more and more tiring to have to filter all these arguments in this manner ...
by svilen_dobrev on 5/25/23, 10:55 AM
Tarkovsky's Sacrifice film was on eye-opener:
by thenerdhead on 5/25/23, 2:51 PM