Since college, I’ve spent my life sitting at a desk working on a computer. And all that jazz.Īs if I was not already completely over the edge about all of this, then my co-worker was listening to Howard Stern yesterday and I overheard this: Jobs that require sitting increase risk of death regardless of diet/exercise. The businessman says, “After that, you can finally retire, you can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning, catch a few fish, then return home to play with your kids, have a nice afternoon nap with your wife, and when evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!” The businessman laughs heartily, “After that, you can live like a king in your own house, and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be rich.” The fisherman continues, “And after that?” By then, you will have moved out of this village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches.” Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and distribution network. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. From now on, you should spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fish as possible. I could help you to become a more successful person. The businessman offered a suggestion to the fisherman. In the afternoon, I take a nap with my wife, and evening comes, I join my buddies in the village for a drink - we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night.”

The fisherman replied, “Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with my kids. The businessman then asked, “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?” “This is enough to feed my whole family,” the fisherman said. “Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?” The businessman was astonished. The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a short while.” The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?” As he sat, he saw a Brazilian fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite few big fish. There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Brazilian village. Of course it stuck with me then, but somehow I let its wisdom slip away. What did I see? Here is a short story that I read a few years ago. When I read the Dalai Lama quote it was like a light bulb went on after a long time in the darkness. But I was still worshiping the almighty dollar and as many times as I said, “I don’t care what other people think…” I still cared what other people thought! I wasn’t intentionally lying (to myself or to others). I started life-coaching & motivational speaking. Yes, I was creating the life of my dreams-but only marginally! I created this site. I’ve been living with the wool half pulled over my eyes. But then I read the Dalai Lama quote and everything came crumbling down around me. I thought I’d done a pretty good job of ignoring societies rules and living by my own. I had even convinced myself, that I was creating the life of my own dreams. See, I’ve been teaching about “Creating the Life of Your Dreams” for awhile now. I had this reaction because it was like everything that I thought I “knew” was turned upside down and shook empty like a jar of pennies.

My reaction was visceral like I was kicked in the stomach. Dramatic imagery, I know, but that’s how it felt. It reverberated over & over in my mind like I was between two gongs and someone was slamming them both with the force of a freight train. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. This: He sacrifices his health in order to make money. I could see the big picture and… I was horrified. For the first time, I could see everything perfectly clearly. It was as though someone took a giant microscope and placed it over my life. Recently, I read this quote and I’ve been reeling from it ever since. He lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.” The result being that he does not live in the present or the future Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.Īnd then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, he said:īecause he sacrifices his health in order to make money.

Dalai lama quotes meaning of life