Hard Work is Worthless!

29 June, 2007 - General Business - 3 Comments

I read this over at Witty Fish a long time ago and it’s always stuck in my head. I gathered I would share the wisdom with you all right now while I try to free up some time. My second part of the customer feedback series will be posted on Saturday.

One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach, with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf. He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish.

About that time, a businessman came walking down the beach, trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family.

“You aren’t going to catch many fish that way,” said the businessman to the fisherman, “you should be working rather than lying on the beach!”
The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, “And what will my reward be?”
“Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!” was the businessman’s answer.
“And then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman, still smiling.
The businessman replied, “You will make money and you’ll be able to buy a boat, which will then result in larger catches of fish!”
“And then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman again.
The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman’s questions.“You can buy a bigger boat, and hire some people to work for you!” he said.
“And then what will my reward be?” repeated the fisherman.
The businessman was getting angry. “Don’t you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!”
Once again the fisherman asked, “And then what will my reward be?”
The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, “Don’t you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this beach, looking at the sunset. You won’t have a care in the world!”
The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, “And what do you think I’m doing right now?”

Don’t work hard. Work smart.

Have you ever attempted to reduce the time spent doing a job so you could fit more in to a work day? Are you trying to work smarter right now, but not having much luck? Share your experiences!

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Posted on 29 June, 2007 by Jamie Harrop
Filed Under General Business |

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3 Comments»

Comment by Nick Subscribed to comments via email
2007-07-03 12:57:51

I’m in the big time, Jamie quoted my site. :)

I always try to work smarter and not harder. Sadly, I get distracted easily so sometimes I spin my wheels instead of getting an actual work done.

I try to work smarter by spending some time up front to organize a project. It can be as simple as having a certain structure for my files so that every project follows the same order which makes it super easy to find a file that needs to be edited.

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Comment by Carl Pei
2007-07-05 18:58:19

Yeah, this is totally true. Work smart my friend. :)

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Comment by chrisblogging.com
2007-07-06 19:12:26

I totally agree. Working smart can definitely do more for you than simply working hard.

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