There is an old story about a lawyer and a fisherman.  It goes something like this.

He looked ridiculous standing on the dock in his tasseled loafers and knee high black socks. An incongruity with the plaid Bermudas and lime green polo.  A cigarette hung from his lip as he punched his Blackberry frenetically.

It was ten o’clock in the morning and the sun was already hot. Frustration dripped from his face.

Two days into a seven day “vacation” in this backwater Mexican village was way more than he could stand.  The deal back in his New York office really couldn’t wait.

As the lawyer considered his options, a small fishing boat pulled up to the dock. Its skipper, deeply tanned, quickly tied up his craft and jumped off the boat and onto the dock  carrying a huge black bass.

“That’s a mighty big fish,” the lawyer said.  “Yes, it is, isn’t it? Thank you, Senor,” replied the man.

“Do you fish for a living?” inquired the lawyer.

“I do, Senor,” said the fisherman.

Now this piqued the curiosity of the lawyer.  After all, it was mid-morning and the man had a single fish. So the lawyer, being lawyerly, inquired further.

“Why only a single fish and why are you back so early?”

“Well, Senor,” said the fisherman, “it’s really all I need.”

This really perplexed the lawyer.  “What do you mean that’s all you need? How do you live?”

“Senor,” the fisherman replied, “my life is really fairly simple. I go out each morning at sunrise to catch a fish.  I’m usually back by late morning.  I have lunch with my beautiful wife Maria, we make love and have our siesta.  Then we usually walk on the beach together and collect sea glass.  We get together in the evening with our friends and cook the fish, enjoy some wine, sing and dance.”

“I think I can help you,” the lawyer said.

Now it was time for the fisherman to be perplexed.  “How so, Senor?”

“Well,” said the lawyer, now standing in full lawyer mode (although still looking quite silly), I’m an attorney from New York.  And I do big corporate deals.  I can tell you how to become massively successful.”

The fisherman was curious.  “Tell me more, Senor.”

“The first thing you need to do,” the lawyer said, “is to spend more time out in the boat to increase your catch.  Fish like that one will fetch a good price in these local restaurants.  Once you build some capital, you can buy a second boat, hire another fisherman, and leverage his work and the catch he brings in.”

The lawyer was getting excited now.  “If you keep building your capital like this, you can buy more and more boats.  Soon you can control a whole fleet.”

“What then?,” the fisherman asked.

“Well you could build a distribution plant here in the village,” said the lawyer. “Cut out the middleman in distribution.  Control a larger and larger share of the market.”

On a roll, the lawyer continued.  “Then you could move to New York, import the fish, distribute them thorough out the United States.  Why, I am sure that you could make millions with this plan.  And I can work with you to make it happen. This is the what we do.

“How long will this take?” inquired the fisherman.

I think about twelve to fifteen years,” replied the lawyer.  “It’ll take a lot of work, make no mistake about that. But it will be worth it. By then, you’ll have amassed a fortune, enough to retire.”

“Then what?” Senor.

“Well that’s the beautiful part,” said the lawyer. “You can move to a little village by the sea, fish for yourself, be home in time for lunch with your wife, walk on the beach, drink wine in the evening, and sing and dance with your friends.”

How easy it is to miss the joy that stands before us.  How often we forget that there are more than enough fish.