What do you want?

I hear so many people say they just want to be rich. Really? Think about this for a moment. It takes a lot of training, learning and worry to be rich. You have to learn how to make the money, then how to protect it. Then you have to worry about how to store it. You can't put more than $250,000 in a bank because if the bank fails, that is all that will be insured by FDIC. And understanding how and when you will get it back is another story.

The stress that would follow "a lot" of money would be, well, not small. You have to know enough about how to read a profit and loss to know if your bookkeeper is taking some off the top. You have to trust people who understand money. And on, and on. You can see where this could get pretty sticky.

I heard a story once and I am making up my own version because it is so powerful:

A couple of American capitalists went to an island in a warm climate and were vacationing on the beach. They watched a man emerge from a small hut close to the shore one day on a beautiful warm morning and get in a medium sized boat and row away. They were enjoying their time on the beach and frittered the morning away relaxing and discussing world politics as the capitalists are wont to do.

A few hours later one of the men noticed the man from the morning returning in his boat with some fish. He watched the man tie the boat up, take the fish, walk down the beach and disappear. A few hours later the man reappeared and his family came out of the hut. They frolicked on the beach, spent time playing music and dancing and went in when the darkness fell.

For the next few days the men watched him as he had basically the same routine. Saturday came and he followed the same routine even on the weekend. They couldn't believe it. He was such a slave to the fishing he had to do every day! One of the capitalist men thought that he would help the fisherman before he went home. He walked over to the fisherman when he came in from the vast sea the next day, Sunday, and asked if he could have a word with the man. The fisherman grinned widely and nodded.

They sat on an old log and the capitalist asked the fisherman why he did not buy another boat and hire some others to work for him so that he would not have to work so hard. The fisherman looked at the man for a moment and smiled. He said, "I do not work hard, sir. I go out in the morning and commune with the fish, I catch a few. I come back to the shore and sell a few of my fish to my friends. Then my family and I spend the rest of the day together. Why do I need more?"

"But sir, don't you see, you could have lots of money." The capitalist plead with him to open his eyes and see that he was missing out on the good life.

"What would I spend it on?" the fisherman asked him.

"More boats. So that you could have more employees and have to work even less than you do now. You could have lots of money and a big house."

"But sir, someone would have to make sure those employees were working. They might not like to fish the way I like to fish. They might be lazy. Then I have to work harder than I do now. And a big house would mean that my children would not play with me the way they do now. They would want video games and television."

The capitalist looked at the fisherman and realizing that he would never be able to convince him of the power of capitalism, went back to join his friends. He shook his head and told them the incredible story of the man who didn't understand capitalism and didn't want to have money.

Meanwhile, the fisherman went home after selling his fish to his friends. He told his family about the man he had met. The one who didn't want to be happy. The one who didn't know what it meant to understand yourself. He shook his head and was sad for the man.

I LOVE this story. The fisherman had everything he wanted. Maybe you are close to retirement age. Maybe retirement to you is spending time with your grandchildren. If they are close to you, great. If not, could it mean that you move closer to them? Maybe that doesn't take a lot of money. Maybe that takes courage. And planning. Design your life. What do you want? Then... how do I get there from here?

A little disclaimer. I think capitalism is grand. I really do. It built America. A lot of people really enjoy the challenge, the thrill and the chase of capitalism. But sometimes we get so caught up in "making money" that we forget the purpose. We forget to decide what we want. That money is just a means to an end. Design your life. Decide what you want. Don't get to the end having made money but having had no life. Having never enjoyed any of it except the two weeks every year that you got to spend backpacking when you had some time off work.

I want to write a novel. I have about 4 first drafts and am still working on more. I want to feel like I contribute and my job allows me to do that. I have had to learn not to let my job take up too much of my life. But I am slowly designing the life I want. My challenge to you is to design the life you want. Start today.