Mexican fisherman story

Hi!

I took this off the Internet... you can easily find it by googling "Mexican fisherman story".

Years and years ago (even before FB even existed and we still used email for chain letters)...  what seems like when I was really young and tought I had life all figured out I came across this story... I loved it so much that I printed it and posted on my cubicle wall in my high paying job... it triggered something and it made me see that, in the end, maybe I tought I had figured it all out.. but I figured it all out WRONG!!!

I was working hard at something that was stressing me out, but paying me a quite decent amount of money, with a generous pension plan, figuring out that if I could stick to it until I was 55 I would then be happy!  And I could live the dream life of the rich and famous... I was, at the time not even 30!!!

It stayed there for 5 years...  and I kept on working and reading it every now and then...  I didn't know what to do with it... I wanted to be like that fisherman but had no clue how I can do this...

Well, that was 2002... and we are now 2016... and I can say that I finally became that fisherman...

It was not easy... but so well worth it...

I hope that story will trigger something in you as well...

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, 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, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

Be who you are... DREAM your life... LIVE your dream...
namaste

love&peace,

chloe

xox

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=734016786

Transitioning to doing work you love!

On Dec 31st I wrote a post about New Year's...  You can read it here.

Following that, someone ask me to write a post about how I transition from my corporate job to working at Starbucks.  I hesitated for a while as truly, I was unsure on how it all happened... and the more I think about it, the more I realize that is was a roller coaster and not the easiest thing I ever done...for many reasons.  Do I regret doing it?  Not at all....  However, if I was to do this again, I might do it differently!

It all started a few years back when I realize that my 40h week job earning a salary of 70k was not making me happy... I was not unhappy either...  I was just missing something!  I didn't know what...yet.

Then, they have let go of me...  and I remember that day like if it was yesterday!  I was FREE at last... I had unemployement for a while and we would be OK! I could do anything I wanted!  And I saw many options... Little did I know, a few months down the line I started panicking...  I needed more money... I was not ready to make the switch and options I was looking at that could still make me rich implied having a degree I did not have! To me, a life coach should be someone who has life experience...  someone who lived thru some tough stuff and moved on with his/her life.  Back where I lived then, a life coach was a 25 year old kid with a degree earned in a couple of years at a cost of many thousands of dollars! Theory was  (and still is) worth more then life...  I had life... I didn't have theory nor did I have the $ to buy it!  I was without a job... SO I got discouraged and started looking for a contract job in something I knew how to do... I found something for 10 months which turned into 14 months contract eventually... In the mean time, I published my book and thought this would help with my life coaching thing...  but it did not...  not enough anyway...

I did some more thinking and after my 14 months contract, my husband and I decided that I would use up my unemployement and take time to figure out what I wanted to do when I grow up! We also packed up and move 10000km away in a city where cost of living was much less...  I thought that there I could become a life coach...  However, building a life coaching business takes time and I realize that I didn't want to invest so much time in it!  I didn't want to put in the hours during evening and week end...  Which brought me to do some more thinking...

Why did I wanted to leave my high paying 9-5 job???

1) It was too many hours
2) There was no real purpose to it

Then I followed with "what would I do with the extra hours?" if I had them... and soon realize that, however this may sound like I have no ambition at all, I wanted to take better care of my son and husband because I loved them and I wanted to be the best person I could be for them. I wanted to have more time to cook real food, more time to read, more time to do yoga, more time to write my blog and work on my social media (which in turn didn't really happen because I soon realize this was an "excuse" I came up with to not do "real" work)...  I wanted to have more/better time for myself during the day so that I can have more/better time with them over the evenings and week ends!   It was THAT simple and when I understood that, I also accepted what my real priorities were:  my wellness and happiness to create wellness and happiness for my son and husband - THAT was all that really mattered!

And by doing THAT, I was getting purpose... but still felt like something would be missing... and that I needed to get a part time job to earn some money myself AND to meet people... I love people! And still secretly hope I could help some to turn their life around...

I then started thinking where would they hire a part time employee with no degree or specific qualifications needed?  I also wonder where do I go that makes me feel good?  Where do I spent my money and do not mind doing it? What is one business I really like? And everything was pointing me to Starbucks! I love being there... I spent thousands of dollars there every year for many years...  I love their attitude towards customers... Their values... And although is is not perfect (nothing ever is), I figure this would be a good match for me!  And I applied and got the job...  because I was passionate about it!

Of course I thought this would be temporary... allow me to meet the "right" people to get my life coach business started... but I soon realize that THIS was enough... I didn't need, nor did I wanted to, work more then 15h-20h a week... I could, there, meet countless number of people...  and it was enough. I had the impact I was looking for... I had the purpose I needed in my life.

I have slowly let go of my dream to change the world through my life coaching business and this blog and all social media. I've let go of the pursuit of numbers!  More "like" more fans, more followers, more friends...  All this takes time and for what really??? I don't even think about this anymore... I have closed many of my social media accounts and this blog is really just staying "open" for a few people who told me they really need it... I care for them, a lot,  but if if was just all up to me, I think I could close that too... I have lost so many readers anyway when I had to change the domain name (because I was been harassed and couldn't take it anymore) that  I took this as a sign... I don't feel this is for me.  When you see some people building on-line businesses so fast and you try and try and struggle...  you get the message!  Perhaps THIS is not what I am suppose to do... Perhaps this is not even what I really wanted to do.  Maybe I just loved the idea of having virtual people like me? Maybe I was switching my love of high paid job for high number of virtual people liking me?

I love to talk to people and help them move forward in their life...and will always love doing that.  I enjoy having good deep discussions and sharing my knowledge... but I don't care for getting a financial benefit from it... benefits comes in so many more ways... I also realize that I'd rather help deeply less people then a lot of people superficially.

I also didn't like feeling like I was "stuck" being someone not to displease anyone... I am my own person... it is not a role.... and I change my mind and "rules" and continue evolving...  and planning on doing so.... and that unfortunately means people coming and going around me... not continuously increasing in number.

Of course I do need to earn "some" money and my Starbucks job is perfect for that!  I LOVE it!  I created bonds with some of my customers...  I love going to work in the morning... I make people happy - have you ever seen someone coming out of Starbucks unhappy? OK may be I did.... but most times they are really happy with getting their caffeine fix and more!

I am not quite sure this is what my reader was asking for at this point... I may have gotten lost in all my life story...  BUT I know that it was challenging... I know for a few months I wonder if I was doing the right thing - we had less money AND after all I was not using my biochemistry bachelor degree.... how could I have gone so low???  But you know what, every time I had those moments, synchronicity send me a message that I was at the right place...  and today, I would not go back! If you are looking for a specific "end result", if you know what you really want, just listen to the Universe, it will guide you to that within the easiest path possible.  Sometimes I feel like I lost time trying to build something complex, to make money to then be able to afford time.... whereas time is free!  Just figure out with out little money you can live and then find something you love that provides you that amount of money!

I now have more "me" time.  I can cook, bake, knit, read, do yoga, see my friends during the day (yes, most of my friends also have part time jobs because they know there is more to life then work)... and I am free for my son and husband on evenings and week ends.... THIS matters more to me then anything else... we all are healthier, happier, less stressed out... and it works out for the best! For all 3 of us!

Now, all that said, would I have known better, there is one thing I would have done differently:  PAY of all my DEBTS before I ditch the high paying job...  It is the only regret I have since now, the only way out of this, is to take out some of my pension plan to repay it...  but hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

Be who you are... DREAM your life... LIVE your dream...
namaste

love&peace,
chloe
xox
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=734016786

The other way to do things - with finances

When I started my minimalist journey and wanted to get smart with money, I went back to some old financial advice I heard quite often... and that are, to this day, what most people will tell you...

Cut down on daily stuff - that latte at your neighbor coffee shop, lunch with co-workers at the pizza place... regular coffee/outing with your spouse over the week end...

This, to my knowledge is THE number one advice you will ear over and over again...

I tried it...
It failed me...

Because I ended up spending more time at the mall because I didn't know what else to do at lunch time...  or over the week end... so I fed my shopping addiction for clothes instead of that of my soy chai latte at Starbucks!

Guess what?  It turns out a sweater is a little more expensive then a chai!  So is pretty much anything I would buy at the mall because I was saving where it mattered!

THEN... I started thinking about this... what if THAT didn't work for me?  What if instead of saving money where it technically really added up I started saving money on stuff I cared less about?  What if skipping my morning chai with my hubby made me miserable and wanted to compensate by shopping for that extra pair of jeans I really didn't needed?

And realized that making me miserable my saving money where I was told to do so cost me more in the end.... and I came up with my own system for saving money according to my priorities.

What matters most to me:

Living in a clean, well maintained apartment
Living in a safe neighborhood
Eating a vegan diet - but doing it on the cheap side is possible and healthier actually
My weekly splurge on soy chai latte and vanilla soy latte at Starbucks for my husband and I (twice a week)
My occasional outing at my near by sushi place (2-3 times a month)
My random meals at our local vegetarian restaurant (3-4 times a year)
Having clothes I like - but I have enough of that so no spending now
Reading - but I can do library for no cost
Incense - buy once a month good quality ones
Once a month trim for my really short hair

The rest?  I really couldn't care less for it... so it slowly but surely went out the door!

I am talking:  car, smart phone, cable TV, excessive shopping, dye for my hair, hair product (my hair is so short I don't need it), daily shampoo... I am talking outings for every single occasion with everyone who ask...  I am talking that occasional glass of wine or martini... I am talking crazy amount of gifts for my son, husband and his kids as well as myself every birthday and Christmas... I am talking bringing over the most expensive hostess gifts every time I go somewhere (you can bake or cook something) or go moderate with the money spent... and last but not least yearly trip down south during the cold months... and I am sure I am forgetting stuff - Oh like... updating my decor at home to be trendy...  hahaha

All this...  saved me much more money then the sum of our lattes and occasional sushi...
Of course, I have decreased the number of times I go to those places but I still do it, because for me, this is what matters!  And cutting what matters most made me miserable and spend more money on what matters less... ironically! As long as it is in your budget, as long as it makes you happy and as long as you pay cash for it... DO IT!!!  Life is short!

Being a minimalist is not about living in poverty... it is about choosing what matters to YOU and spending your money on that instead of on everything and anything you couldn't care less for!

Be who you are... DREAM your life... LIVE your dream...
namaste

love&peace,
chloe
xox
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=734016786