Solo Trip Revelations Featuring the Businessman and Fisherman Story

My favorite way to relax and create space for reflection is to travel alone. Last week, I was ready for another solo adventure. I can usually tell I’m ready because I crave change on a new level of extreme and feel like my mind is suffocating, like there isn’t enough space to think.

So, on a few days' notice, I booked an Airbnb for a couple of nights in Nashville, Tennessee. A four-and-a-half-hour drive, a cozy studio tiny home with a lofted bed, new parks to stroll around in, delicious food to try, and a visit with friends awaited me. It was a pretty short trip. Certainly not long enough to experience extreme efficiency and productivity. Most definitely not long enough to feel ready to go back home afterward. But absolutely long enough for my solo reflection time to reveal another arrow pointing in the right direction. 

I am in awe at what solo trips do for me. I find peace and clarity when I distance myself from my normal routine and regular distractions. When I set out alone on a trip with a purpose, the new environment allows me to take a huge step back and look down on my life with a clear view. Before each trip, when I’m in that overwhelmed, suffocated state where I crave change, I can only see through a limited perspective. Sometimes that’s not enough because every little distraction and stress is jumbled into the view. But when hundreds of miles separate me from everything familiar, I can find a new height from which to peer out and understand.

Every solo trip I’ve taken molds me into a tad bit of a different form. I am clay, and traveling is the hand that grips and shapes me. I gain trust in myself. I overcome anxiety. I become more decisive. I am more okay with being alone. And I understand the next steps of my journey through life more clearly. On this particular trip, I was driving back home alongside bare trees and rolling Tennessee hills when a new and slightly painful realization struck me. This revelation was the arrow directing me back on the right path. It has everything to do with the infamous story of the fisherman and businessman.

The Businessman and Fisherman Story

Sometime in 2020, I heard the story about a fisherman and a businessman. It went something like this. 

An American businessman was sitting on a beach in a small coastal village in Mexico. He saw a Mexican fisherman rowing to shore in a small boat full of fish.

“Wow!” Exclaimed the impressed businessman. “How long did it take you to catch those fish?”

“Oh, just a short while.” Replied the fisherman.

“Why don’t you row back out there and catch more?”

“I have enough to support my family's needs.”

“Well then, what do you do with the rest of your time?"

“I sleep in, go fishing, play with my kids, spend time with my wife, and sip on a cocktail while I play guitar with my amigos in the village each evening. My life is abundant and busy.“ The Mexican fisherman responded.

The American businessman scoffed. “I graduated with an MBA from Harvard. Let me help you. You should spend more time fishing and buy a bigger boat with your profit. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy more boats until you have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, open your own cannery and have control of the product, manufacturing, and distribution. Then, you’ll leave this coastal fishing town and move to Mexico City, then LA or New York City, where you will run your growing company.”

“But how long will this take?” Asked the Mexican fisherman.

“Fifteen to twenty years.”

“But what then?”

The American laughed and said, “This is where you make it! You'll eventually announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public. You’ll be rich! A millionaire!”

“A millionaire? Then what?”

“Then you would retire. Sleep in, go fishing, play with your kids, spend time with your wife, and sip on a cocktail while you play guitar with your amigos in the village each evening.”

Am I the Goddamn Businessman in the Story of Fisherman and Businessman?

As I enjoyed the last few hours of my solo trip, my sister called. Our conversation led to speaking about things that bring me joy; traveling, writing fiction novels, and sharing my thoughts and experiences on the topics of mental health and personal growth. I expressed how I can’t wait for the day I can spend all of my time doing my favorite things and how that day would come once I save up enough money from my corporate job to invest in real estate, which would expand into a profitable and largely passive business once I hired property managers and laborers. I spoke about how I’ve been spending so much time lately searching for a profitable deal on a house to flip that I’ve had to set my beloved fiction novel aside, and I haven’t gotten to the list of to-do’s that will take my mental health blog further.

My sweet, wise sister reminded me, “Jessi, you could just do everything you love now. Isn’t that what matters most? Being happy? Go travel, go on that road trip of your dreams. Focus on your blog and your book because writing lights you up like a magical, warm sun. Making money by doing what you love right now makes a lot more sense to me than making money in less fulfilling ways so you can do what you love later. And remember, you don’t even know if you get a later.”

Am I the American businessman attempting to take the long, stressful, powerful route to live the life of a Mexican fisherman? My intentions for attempting to grow multiple side businesses have felt like gold; impressive, financially intelligent, and a way to set myself up stably and responsibly for the future. Why am I just now recognizing that this path to stability and security is actually a path of misery that pushes me further from my creative dreams?

I’ve accepted that every single career path involves risk because nothing is guaranteed. I’ve accepted that I have many interests and dreams, and I am willing to pursue them all. I’ve realized that I have the power to make my own decisions and that I am privileged enough to know that the world is full of opportunities. But with ample options, it can be confusing which path to choose. And with society throwing fear, material influence, and marketing schemes down my throat, it can be easy to make the wrong decision.

Solo Trip Revelation: I want to be the fisherman.

Having this conversation with my sister and remembering the powerful message held within the businessman and fisherman story made me stop and re-evaluate. I really am in danger of falling into a trap that could increase my stress levels and minimize my happiness. At this moment in time, I am a true believer in the fact that if we are lucky enough to choose what we do every day, then we should choose a path that will bring us a balance of fulfillment, security, and joy. 

If anything is clear to me right now, it is that I know what I love. It is that I know if I continue to pursue hobbies or careers that I am not passionate about, they will suck up a portion of my time that that will not be spent immersing myself in what makes my heart happy. At what point are certain parts of my life a distraction from what I love the most? How can I be so sure that to get further along the path to my goals, I must first embark on another, separate path that I envision getting me there faster? Isn’t there a point at which your time is better spent just focusing on what you truly want? Am I zigzagging around when I could just go there right now? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to work extra hard to make money and enjoy my life the way I truly want to?r

I try to stay exceptionally self aware, but perhaps even the most self aware individuals can become swept away in a current of misguidance. Though others may desire the businessman route, and that is perfectly okay, I personally do not want to become so carried away with an idea that it grows into an obsession that takes over my life. I do not want to get stuck doing something that takes up so much of my time that I can’t spend it on what matters most to me.

Even more significant to me within this story and this thought-provoking conversation is the fact that my values align with the phrase, “do more with less.” How simple of a life does the Mexican fisherman live? I am minimal. I am not materialistic. I am an environmentalist. I make sustainable choices. I want less. How much do I really need to find happiness and security? I really don’t need that much.

Though I want to obtain influence on a larger scale and a part of me craves power, how important are each of those concepts really when it comes to positively impacting others and this planet? Do wealth, power, and influence define success and fulfillment in my own little world? Perhaps if wealth, power, and influence are achieved through a medium that I believe truly makes the world a better place, then that is wonderful. But if that doesn’t happen, there are still profound ways I can have a meaningful purpose. Moving forward, I will make commitments and take steps that will maximize true happiness and align more fully with my values. 

In reflection of the fisherman and the businessman story, I'm thinking should really go on more solo trips. Hehe. :)

Mental Health Blog Disclaimer

I am not a medical professional, therapist, or mental healthcare professional. The information provided on this website is for informational purposes only, comes from my own personal experiences, and may be read, interpreted, and practiced at your own risk. Do not rely on this information as a substitute to medical advice or treatment from a healthcare professional.