I first read the story of the Mexican Fisherman in 2013. It somehow came across my desk while I was working as a senior executive at a Fortune 100 company in the metro Washington DC area. It had an immediate and profound impact on my outlook and goals in life. We were living the good life, or at least so we thought-the alleged “American Dream”. I had just turned 40 and had a beautiful wife, 4 children and we lived in a 10,000 square foot house in a gated community in the suburbs. We had a country club membership and live in au pair from Thailand who spoiled us with fresh homemade sushi and various tai dishes. We also had our country estate in Georgia to escape to when we were tired of city or country club life. We drove a Maserati and a BMW which paired nicely with the family swagger wagon, our beloved mini van. Seemingly, we had it all. Right?
I know what your thinking, even as I write this and read back my own words I say dude, what are you complaining about? The truth is, I did have it all and then some. The problem was, like the Sheryl Crow song says, “It’s not having what you want, it’s wanting what you have”, and I wanted what the Mexican Fisherman had. The one thing that seemed most elusive to a hard working corporate guy like me-time…
I have herd even the wealthiest people such as Warren Buffet specifically say “time” is the one commodity that all the money in the world can’t buy. So why was I, like so many of us driven by acquiring more things, which required more income, which in turn required more of my precious time?
In 2013, I was working two full time jobs which took me around the globe regularly. In addition I just wrapped up an exhausting MBA program in all my spare time at Northwestern University. In the most recent 3 years prior, my wife also completed her MBA while we expanded our family having two more children in 2010 and 2011. During the same time we lost my wife’s Father and Grandmother to illness. Meanwhile, my wife was also hospitalized with viral meningitis and nearly met her demise. It was an extremely hectic time for us.
Somthing had to change, we did not want to end up the richest people in the graveyard nor do I aspire for my headstone to say how hard of a worker I was. The Mexican Fisherman had inspired me to change the trajectory of my career and start to move in a direction of family focus and enjoying life. I knew this was going to take some incremental steps but I was committed to no longer living to work, but working for what we need and living with a purpose. In the time since 2013, my wife and I have continued to work, albeit less than we used to. Our singular focus when taking on jobs has been, “how does this impact my quality of life?”.
In February pf 2020, as previously mentioned I pulled the plug and left my career cold turkey. The timing may be an absolute coincidence, fortuitous or perhaps divine intervention. The very week I resigned from my job the world came to a stand still. The global pandemic COVID-19 rocked the country the same week. While so many people suffered, I regularly counted my blessings that I not only could be home with my family, but I wanted to and had planned for it.
The next chapter of our journey is yet to be written. Where will it take us? Perhaps Hawaii or Guam again, maybe to the Florida Keys or even Europe. The possibilities are endless but one thing is certain, anywhere we go we will be together as a family. You will probably find us looking for a beach or a pub to duck into and tell stories of our adventures. Most of all, like Jack Dawson says in Titanic, “making each day count!”.
mexicanfisherman.com 