Fun Stories Of Fishing Lessons
The Mexican Fisherman
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, and 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, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
Sometimes we don’t need bigger barns. We need to take care of what GOD has given us.
True Friendship
Once upon a time, in a church tucked away in the country, there were three friends, Steve, Carl and TJ. They loved spending their time at church talking about fishing mishaps on the river causing laughter in all who were around them.
One day, while setting some lines to catch some fish, they stumbled upon a group of fishermen who were out fishing. Steve, Carl and TJ were fascinated by what the fishermen were doing and decided to join them. After all, it sounded like an exciting adventure.
The fishermen welcomed them onboard their boat with open arms. Steve was grumbling about how this wasn’t his idea of fun while Carl couldn’t stop giggling at everything he saw. TJ was just happy to be there and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.
As soon as they reached deeper waters, the fishermen cast their nets into the river hoping for a big catch. And boy did they get one! The net was filled with all kinds of fish: channel cats, flat head, carp and even some Asian carp.
Steve immediately started complaining about how boring fishing was until Carl came up with an idea. Why not have a little fun with these fish? Without wasting any time, he quickly went over to a storage box and grabbed a helmet, a dip net and some goggles went to the edge of the boat and waited staring at the water. TJ thought this was hilarious and joined in on the action by grabbing an oar, a hat and sun glasses and proceeded to help Carl staring at the water. The fishermen were stunned but couldn’t help but laugh at these silly fishermen and their antics.
But then something unexpected happened — Steve, with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face, was slapped by a flying fish. It was those Asian carp and boy were they jumping. Seeing Carl and TJ laughing so hard brought a smile to Steve’s face and suddenly Steve didn’t feel so grumpy anymore.
He went over to Carl, TJ and the fishermen and apologized for his behavior, surprising everyone including himself. Carl, TJ and the fishermen accepted the apology and soon enough, they were reminiscing about the good times like long lost friends.
Steve, Carl and TJ were amazed at how these fishermen had allowed them to join the fun. They decided to forget setting their lines and enjoy a peaceful day out on the river with their new fishing friends.
As they walked back to their little section of the river, Steve, Carl and TJ couldn’t stop talking about their exciting fishing adventure. Even though they didn’t bring home any actual catch that day, they had something much more valuable, friendship. They also didn’t go hungry. They ate the unused bait!
Whenever they saw each other, Steve would always be a little less grumpy while Carl would still be as funny as ever and TJ would have an extra sparkle in his eyes knowing that he was surrounded by true friends.