Because of anti-entrepreneurial and status quo “sayings” like this one.
And, because of “illuminating stories” that are supposed to make you accept things just the way they are. Here’s one of them.
You’ve probably heard or read it somewhere, or some of its many variations. What all these versions of the same story have in common is the message:
Don’t wish for a change! Don’t try to improve! It’s pointless! It’s futile!
So, here it goes.
A rich and successful man is looking for a nice fishing spot. Long story short, after some time, his luxurious yacht stumbles upon some beautiful little island. The search is over and a proud yacht owner prepares to enjoy and relax by fishing. Then, he finds out there’s an old man sitting and fishing already. He decides to join him, and you know how it goes. Small talk about this and that.
The rich man hears the old man’s life story about not being so successful. Fishing has become one, if not the only way, to provide for himself.
In good faith and with honest intentions, the rich man shares a couple of business ideas about how the old man can travel a bit further to a bigger fish market, get more money, hire other people, invest in a small fishing boat, etc. The old man is skeptical, but a patient listener.
He only has one question for the rich man.
“Thank you for useful pieces of advice. I’d like to know, what’s the point?”
“What do you mean, what’s the point?”
“I mean, what’s the point of going through all the troubles, investing my time and energy?”
“Well, I didn’t say it’s going to be easy, but it’s going to be worth it. You would have to work hard, so one day you can afford to sit, relax, and enjoy fishing, just like me.”
“But, I’m already doing that. I’ve been doing it for most of my life. So, what’s the point?”
The “moral” of this story is that the rich man realizes and accepts that the old man has been right all this time.
The rich man worked so hard and sacrificed a lot only to end up at the same spot side-by-side with the poor, but the wiser old man.
You’re supposed to feel good after hearing a story such as this one. There’s no point in fighting, working, and wishing for a better life because you’d eventually end up wishing for the same things as rich and successful people.
I’ve heard people saying, oh we can’t be all rich, somebody has to be poor. It’s just the way things are and have always been.
We are all free to treat these sayings and stories as “eternal truths” or “lousy excuses” for not trying and giving up. We are all free to decide how much is enough to make us feel rich and successful.
There are people who would never have enough, just like there are people who are perfectly happy with what they have at the given moment.
The easiest thing to say is: it’s all in your head.
The only problem is that certain sayings and stories influence the processes in our heads. As a result, some people act or do not act at all.
For the record, fishing just ain’t my thing, but me not being rich has nothing to do with it.
Originally published as a Quora answer.