The Banker and the Fisherman

Reach for the top with a hand in the mud.

A couple of weeks ago, I felt like the tourist in the parable of the banker and the fisherman. You’ve probably heard variations of the story. A banker or executive, really anyone representing the modern rat race, visits a sleepy village where she encounters a fisherman taking a nap.

Why not work harder, the tourist prods the fisherman. Why would I do that, he responds. His life, he explains, is full: he sleeps in, goes fishing, plays with his children, takes a siesta, and spends the evenings in the village with his wife and friends. This the banker can’t accept. Hustle and buy more boats, she suggests. Build a business, upgrade your morning routine, listen to the Huberman podcast, and so on. Once wealthy, the fisherman would finally be free to rest and relax.

I used to like the story and its simple prompt to examine our lives and ambitions. I appreciated the warning not to project our values onto others. However, a few days on Martha’s Vineyard changed my mind. You see, the story pretends that the banker and the fisherman live in different worlds. It fails to consider that the banker has Instagram.

$30 lobster roll while looking for fishermen