Know where you are going.

[Lazarus]

Timeless


A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist
complimented
the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it
took him to catch them.

"Not very long," answered the Mexican.

"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the
American.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his
Needs and those of his family.

The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta
with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends,
have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs . . I have a
full life."

The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help
you!
You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the
extra
fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."

And after that?" asked the Mexican.

With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second
one
and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.
Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate
directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant.


You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los
Angeles,
or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new
enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? Well my Friend, That's when it gets really interesting,"
answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big,
you
can start selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?" said the Mexican.

"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the
coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a
siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your
friends."

And the moral is: Know where you're going in life... you may already
be
there.

 

[tryan]

Another I like ...

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things only hoped for."

 

[Mountain_Mike]

Lazarus,

I really liked that story, and it is so true.

What I dream about in retirement is freedom and the ability to do many of the things I did in younger days. Yet, somehow I got sucked into stepping on the treadmill, and once on, it is hard to get off.

I was just thinking back...I was happier when I made $600 a month than $6000. What's up with that?

 

[greg]

I was just thinking back...I was happier when I made $600 a month than $6000. What's up with that?

I've got a pill for that. I see the same general problem in life as I see in the pill industry. We have now reached a point where the simple pills, for the most part, are not being created. Even when they try to try one symptom they either have a horrible consequence somewhere else in the body or, when mixed with others, create even more problems. Juggling, balancing, and big doctor/pill bills result to work through the problems.

Same with our my life. The complexity of taxes, general health care, politics, retirement, housing, etc., etc., have reached an overwhelming point. Even the choice of a car drives me batty sometimes. They all affect each other also. Want to go on an extended vacation? Maybe you need to cheat on your taxes to make it work. (Just kidding, really.) That interconnection is there.

In my youth, my biggest complaint was about FICA taxes. My employer was good. He paid me what he said he was going to. I was happy. Girls made me even happier. Cars were a way to get the girls. Simple, effective connections that got simple, effective results--sometimes.

But none of this should infer that I liked Reagan or like Bush. I've grown up too.

--Greg

 

[wabmester]

But none of this should infer that I liked Reagan or like Bush.  I've grown up too.

You're going the wrong way, Greg.

If you're not a liberal at 20, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative at 40, you have no head! - Sir Winston Churchill

Some of my fondest memories are of being a poor student, but I like having the option of not living the life of a poor student too.

 

[Lazarus]

I think it was Thoreau that said "You can measure a mans success by the number of things he can leave alone"

 

[Martha]

You're going the wrong way, Greg.

If you're not a liberal at 20, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative at 40, you have no head! - Sir Winston Churchill

Some of my fondest memories are of being a poor student, but I like having the option of not living the life of a poor student too.

Variants of the heart/head quote: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/5952/unquote.html

 

[bogart]

The age 20 age 40 thing is probably right.  However, it is incomplete.  The third stage -- if you are not a moderate by the time you hit 60, sick and tired of both conservative and liberal blowhards, you are in a state of arrested development.

 

[Jarhead*]

The age 20 age 40 thing is probably right.  However, it is incomplete.  The third stage -- if you are not a moderate by the time you hit 60, sick and tired of both conservative and liberal blowhards, you are in a state of arrested development.

(Couldn't agree more)!






1

 

[eric]

Some of my favorites (I unfortunately don't know who said them).

"Don't get really good at something you don't like to do"

"Saying time is money is an insult to time"

 

[tryan]

"Saying time is money is an insult to time"

Thanx for that one! I'll be using that in FIRE.

 

[Eagle43]

Some of my favorites (I unfortunately don't know who said them).

"Don't get really good at something you don't like to do"

I just love that one. Unfortunately, I did!

The age 20 age 40 thing is probably right. However, it is incomplete. The third stage -- if you are not a moderate by the time you hit 60, sick and tired of both conservative and liberal blowhards, you are in a state of arrested development.

Bingo. We have a winner. A pox on all of 'em!

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

The way I heard it, the quote went (sorta):
"If a man is not a liberal in his youth, he has no heart. If he is not a conservative when he is old, he has no conscience."

Personally, I am doing it backwards.

Gypsy

 

[moghopper]

The way I heard it, the quote went (sorta):
"If a man is not a liberal in his youth, he has no heart.  If he is not a conservative when he is old, he has no conscience."

Personally, I am doing it backwards.

Gypsy

You had no heart as a youth, and now you have no conscience?

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Yup. I am going into politics. I will be the next NDP candidate for PM. Ottowa, here I come!

 

[sgeeeee]

If you're not a liberal at 20, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative at 40, you have no head! - Sir Winston Churchill

Churchill said a lot of ensightful things. This is not one of them. A translation of this statement might read,

It's okay to think about the needs of other people when you are young, but real men become greedy, self-centered bastards by the time they are 40.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Let's get to the bottom fo this, SG. This is one of my favourite quotes.

Who really said it? (And is there somewhere I can go to check authorshhip before I misquote somebody else again?)

Ed

 

[Eagle43]

Churchill said a lot of ensightful things.  This is not one of them.  A translation of this statement might read,    

It's a magnificent quote and dead on.  A better translation would be:  Stupid, when young (guided by your feelings and good intentions);  Smart when older, realizing that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  And I personally followed the quote, young to old.  Churchill (or whoever said it) was brilliant.

Or, as old Cactus Ed Abbey has said: "In my case, saving the world was only a hobby".

 

[ProfHaroldHill]

Let's get to the bottom fo this, SG.  This is one of my favourite quotes. 

Who really said it? 
Ed

Also, might be interesting to see how old the author was at the time -- could be a little self interest, self aggrandizement, or middle-age-know-it-all-ism going on.

HH

 

[ProfHaroldHill]

PS -- the only thing as stupid as a liberal is a conservative. When people grow up, they think issues through on merit, rather that falling into one or the other hard-wired category.

HH

 

[sgeeeee]

Let's get to the bottom fo this, SG.  This is one of my favourite quotes. 

Who really said it?  (And is there somewhere I can go to check authorshhip before I misquote somebody else again?)

Ed

Ed,

I didn't mean to imply that Churchill did not make this statement (I have no idea whether he did or not). I did mean to imply that it is not an ensightful statement.

While some people do take a turn to the dark side (conservatism) as they get old, there are many who become increasingly enlightened and liberal. But as profHH points out, the labels themselves seem to take on less and less meaning.

 

[sgeeeee]

It's a magnificent quote and dead on.

 

A better translation would be:  Stupid, when young (guided by your feelings and good intentions);  Smart when older, realizing that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. .

Yes, I can see that smart people certainly want to eliminate good intentions. If only we could eliminate good intentions, we might eventually be able to eliminate all good entirely.

And I personally followed the quote, young to old..

I can believe that. And of course if it worked for you, then it must be right for everybody.

Churchill (or whoever said it) was brilliant. . . .

Based on the fact that you believe it to describe you?

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Liberals and Conservatives

A Conservative is a Liberal who has been robbed.

A Liberal is a Conservative who has spent a night in jail.

(I think this was on TMF years ago.)

 

[ProfHaroldHill]

Re: Liberals and Conservatives

A Conservative is a Liberal who has been robbed. 

A Liberal is a Conservative who has spent a night in jail.

And a pox is something that should go on both of them . . .

 

[Eagle43]

Perhaps I should have said from idealistic to cynical. Yeah, that's more accurate. We all gonna change the world when we're young. We we get a little older, we know better.