There is this theory that persists that complicated is better.
Even though we know that this is not the case.
It’s still insidious.
It is all about the growth, the next steps, the next marker or milestone that shows that we’ve “made it”, that we’re doing all the right things because these right things are all about growth. Social, financial and societal proof.
Here’s a story: (summarized from https://paulocoelhoblog.com/2015/09/04/the-fisherman-and-the-businessman/)
There was once a businessman sitting on a beach.
As he sat, he saw a fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite a few big fish.
The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?”
The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a little bit.”
The businessman was astonished. “Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?”
“This is enough to feed my whole family,” the fisherman said.
The businessman then asked, “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?”
The fisherman replied, “Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I take a nap with my wife, and then in the evening, I join my buddies in the village for a drink — we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night.”
The businessman offered a suggestion to the fisherman. “I am a PhD in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you should spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fish as possible. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and a distribution network. By then, you will have moved out of this village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches.”
The fisherman continues, “And after that?”
The businessman laughs heartily, “After that, you can live like a king in your own house, and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be rich.”
The fisherman asks, “And after that?” The businessman says, “After that, you can finally retire, you can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning, catch a few fish, then return home to play with kids, have a nice afternoon nap with your wife, and when evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!”
The fisherman was puzzled, “Isn’t that what I am doing now?”
I remember hearing this story many years ago and sort of getting it – just a little.
Now (with age and maybe some wisdom), I’m seeing it around every single turn and I am horrified. The minute someone likes or is good at something, there is someone waiting in the wings to tell them they should monetize it or make it more productive in some way.
And none of us are immune to this force.
As a society we are so bought into the “build something up and forfeit the time so then you can enjoy all of that later.”
But what if there is no later? What if the thing you are doing is just something you want to do and don’t want to spend the time on all the other stuff that someone (society) is suggesting? There are those who say if you want to be a Master, teach or that you should spread the word. I find these are also the people that have zero understanding of all the extra time and work that would take. And they also can’t understand that it isn’t what you want to do…
There is a fine line between tracking, understanding and optimizing for what you want vs. doing all that for their own sake. It is so hard in this world to not fall into that trap. Even if you are just focusing on your own metrics and your own version of success, it creeps in.
What if you did build your life around what you want to do and THEN stopped trying to optimize the shit out of it? What if it wasn’t about what others told you would “get you there” but you just decided to be there? Or figure out what “there” is for yourself? I guarantee your “there” is not my “there” is not someone else’s “there.” So why listen and incorporate how others got “there” when you likely don’t want to go there anyway?
I can’t imagine I’m alone in spending so much time and energy trying to find the right system or most efficient process for this task or that task. I’ve spent years working with and through a productivity system writing/creating. So many different versions of tracking (as if tracking is supposed to gamify it or make me feel better) and none of them have really worked – they all required additional time and energy and I found it just wasn’t important to me. The goal was to write and since the mission was accomplished, who cares?
I have found a happy medium for now. I’ve been using it for a few months and it sort of works. But I still, I just write and forget to note it. Though my self 6 months from now will be happy I did (when I do remember) because I’m always telling myself I don’t spend a lot of time writing but really I do. And I love a good spreadsheet so it helps me easily see, really, how much I have been writing.
I’ve read, been suggested to and suggested to others that they needed help, more systems, more tracking, more processes and procedures.
I’ve also said that “the less you have of all of these things – especially for the sake of having them – the better.”
It takes getting crystal clear on what is really necessary, what we really want and what we really could do without. And then adding things in based on a desire and for the right reasons.
We all need support, we all can’t do it all even if we wanted to, we want to be part of something bigger – those are great reasons. Not because so-and-so said so…
So how are you the fisherman or how do you want to be the fisherman? Are you running the distribution network (or paying someone to do that) when you just want to be the guy who goes out on the water for a few hours? Are you the one fishing when you are thinking you want to create a storefront to sell the extras you inevitably end up catching?
Again, it’s about intention. Do those things because it is your calling. Because you want to do it. If it is important to you no matter the expected financial gain, or the time or the effort, fine.
But if you are doing something to “build a brand, a legacy, get yourself free so you can go back to fishing…”
Well…it might be worth thinking through this a bit more.
Business is personal because we (the “personals” ourselves) create it. What is driving us – our values, our expectations, our social contracts – that is what makes the business.
Much of what business is as we understand it today is just pure nonsense. We take things and fabricate them to tell a story that in the end doesn’t even matter and exhausts ourselves and everyone around us. (I never want to hear about a “deck” ever again.)
To get rid of those things, it’s in the personal that is going to solve it. Go back to being a fisherman – whatever that looks like for you. Sometimes you can opt out of much more than you think (and if you can, I do recommend).
Sometimes you can’t, sometimes you need to use the tools, build the business, etc. Even in building of the business, though you can simplify, you can do less, because so much of what is supposedly necessary is just extra junk weighing down and pulling us away from our ultimate goals.
It’s not the money but what the money is supposed to give us. How can you take that right now? No extra admin necessary.
