An American investment banker was sitting on a dock in a small town in an island in the Caribbean when he saw a lone fisherman arrive on a boat.

There were several large yellow-fin tuna on the boat. The banker lauded the fisherman for the quality of the catch and asked him how long it had taken him to reel in the fish? The fisherman answered that it had taken him only a short while.

The banker then asked the fisherman why did he not stay out longer and catch more fish? The fisherman answered that he had enough to satisfy the needs of his family. The banker then asked the fisherman what he did with the rest of his time.

The fisherman answered: “After I’m done fishing, I go home and rest for a bit, I play with my children, I take a nap with my wife Maria, I go to the town at night where I drink wine and play the guitar with my friends. I have a pleasant, yet busy, life.”

The banker replied: “Listen, I’m a Harvard MBA and I can help you. You should dedicate more time to fishing and then use the added revenue to buy a bigger boat. You can then take the profits from the bigger boat and use them to finance the acquisition of several boats. Eventually you’ll own a fleet of fishing boats.

“Instead of selling your catch to an intermediary, you could go straight to the processor and, eventually, you could open your own processing plant. “You could thereby control the production, processing and distribution. “You should leave this small town and go to the capital, where you could manage your expanding business.”

The fisherman then replied: “But how long will it take for all of this to happen?” The banker answered: “Between 15 and 20 years.” To which the fisherman retorted: “And then what?” The banker laughed and said that was the best part, adding: “When the time is right, you should file an IPO (Initial Public Offering) and sell stock in your business to the public. You will be rich, you’ll be a millionaire.” The fisherman wondered: “Millions, huh? And then what?”

The banker said: “Then you can retire. You can move to a small town on the coast where you can sleep late, fish a little bit, play with your kids, take long naps with your wife, go to the town every night to drink wine and play the guitar with your friends.” The fisherman answered: “But isn’t that what I have right now?”

MORAL OF THE STORY: How many people have wasted their lives looking for happiness, when they already have what they seek, yet they are unable to see it? True happiness lays in loving what we have, and not lusting after what we lack. If we cry because the sun set, the tears will not allow us to see the stars. Happiness is a journey, not a destination!