8 ms·

My dad worked for some years on a coal mine when he was 16. Mind you, this was on a remote village during the post-war era on Spain. He has countless histories

by kh_hk 11y ago

My dad worked for some years on a coal mine when he was 16. Mind you, this was on a remote village during the post-war era on Spain. He has countless histories even though he does not share them often; smelly rooms with bunk beds, cold winters, or fishing on a pond with dynamite. He later moved from there to the big city, took correspondence studies on electricity and started a tour around multiple companies and projects as an electrician until he settled on one company (a company that started small but later became one of the biggest multinational corporations of pool products) where he worked until retiring. Sometimes he would do side jobs fixing pools and fancy installations on the high profile clients. I've been there with him helping out. He once told me: "see these big houses, two pools and an spa? They think they need all this, but have no time to enjoy themselves. Me? I have everything I ever wanted." He has been all his life self learning just as a pastime. His side project being going back to his old village to build a well and water installations to help farmers irrigate their fields. He even used water pressure to make a kind of 'protocol' to communicate different panels. When you go there, it's crazy land. He's been iterating over his initial design for more than 40 years, and he keeps going at it now at 79. One thing he usually says, contrary to what most people think is that life is long, really long. There's time for everything. We come from two different worlds. To me it's not just about him being a role model but showing him gratitude for all he has taught me.

ep103 11y ago
"see these big houses, two pools and an spa? They think they need all this, but have no time to enjoy themselves. Me? I have everything I ever wanted." I really needed to hear this today. I like this outlook. Thanks.
- ljf 11y ago
  An American tourist was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The tourist complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, "Only a little while." The tourist then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" The Mexican said, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs." The tourist then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life." The tourist scoffed, " I can help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you could run your ever-expanding enterprise." The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?" The tourist replied, "15 to 20 years." "But what then?" asked the Mexican. The tourist laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions." "Millions?...Then what?" The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."
  - killface 11y ago
    That old man breaks his back requiring bed rest for 12 months and multiple dangerous and painful surgeries ... versus a guy who has a couple mil in the bank. It's a good parable, but doesn't stand up to too much scrutiny.
    - e12e 11y ago
      You're saying that if the old man worked harder, he'd be less likely to break his back? Or are you saying that if he worked harder, he'd only break his back after he made a few million?
      - ep103 11y ago
        He's saying that in real life the fisherman's job is a bit worse than presented, and the American's a bit better, due to things like healthcare, and financial planning for emergencies and retirement. And the correct response to that is yes, its a parable, the answer isn't to become a fisherman or necessarily start your business, but to find a good middleground for yourself that keeps the point of the parable in mind.
        e12e 11y ago
        The way I read the parable, the point is that you can do blue collar work at a humane pace, work smart and have a good life. Or you can work yourself into the ground while life pass you by. I don't really see how "It's better to be born rich" adds much to the interpretation.
        ep103 11y ago
        lol, the point of the parable is to remember that you work to live, not live to work. I was responding to your parent post, that was basically just harping that the parable was a bit simplified.
        kaybe 11y ago
- oaktowner 11y ago
  I took a surfing lesson in Hawaii last week from a guy who has a degree from Florida State (business, if I'm not mistaken, but I'm also not positive). After graduating, he realized that he'd rather live in Hawaii and spend his days in the ocean than sitting at a desk. Yes, he could earn more money...but he's very happy doing what he does. He keeps in touch with friends that he graduated with, and while many of them would like to switch places with him, he says he wouldn't switch places with any. Of course, they may be setting themselves up for a better retirement, etc. But he has realized that a simple life that makes him happy is what he wants. Good on him.
  - eli_gottlieb 11y ago
    And how does he pay for housing in such an expensive location as Hawaii?
    - oaktowner 11y ago
      We didn't talk about it -- but teaching surfing was definitely his full-time employment. But a quick Craigslist scan finds tons of apartments for less than $1,000 a month. He said that he leads a fairly simple life.
kamaal 11y ago
>>"see these big houses, two pools and an spa? They think they need all this, but have no time to enjoy themselves. Me? I have everything I ever wanted." Unfortunately a lot things have changed since those days. In fact a few centuries back you could have a lot of fun in life doing nothing at all. These days things are so organized, anybody who falls out of line is likely to through a great deal of suffering. Healthcare is very organized and expensive, you can't get a decent job today without education and the overall society is moving towards a trend where not having a certain set of things can leave you with social disability. >>One thing he usually says, contrary to what most people think is that life is long, really long. There's time for everything. This is very true, and this is why if you are going to live really long you better have a good cache of savings for your retirement.
- rthomas6 11y ago
  See here's the thing. Happiness is a state of mind, not a physical mode of being. Many people, including you, think that a person needs some parity with an invisible standard in order to feel contentment. But that's not true. You don't need anyone's permission to have fun, and you don't need to obtain anything to start enjoying your life. A few centuries ago, when you say people could have fun doing nothing at all, what you call "a great deal of suffering" in contemporary society is actually materially better than even the middle class lived back then. Much better. It's just that people are wired to compare themselves to their community, and by default that's what people base their self-worth and contentment on, unless they do some careful introspection and consciously change their source of sense of self-esteem. A few centuries ago, the average family lived on a small farm with little education, no running water, no electricity, and little excess. A large fraction of the children would die before their first birthday, and dying of bacterial infection was quite likely at any age. The boys could expect nothing more than a life full of hard physical work on the farm, and the girls could expect to get married or, if they were very lucky, get a profession like nursing or teaching. Yet, this average family was happy, and it wasn't because of their material possessions or adequate healthcare (clearly). It was because they were grateful for what they had, and because of a supportive community who were just like them and were always there for them. You're missing the point of the quote you pasted. His father had everything he ever wanted because he didn't value material wealth, and was perfectly content with what I imagine you (and probably me too) would call "suffering", because he had friends, family, hobbies, time, and relatively good health. That's really all we need.
joesmo 11y ago
I think he's absolutely right about life being long.
kzhahou 11y ago
"Excuse me, can i ask you a question? Are you happy?" "Well, i got a boat, good friends, and a trampoline... You tell me." Wise words from 30 Rock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiGBsz16MII https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiGBsz16MII
harperlee 11y ago
Just out of curiosity, where is that on Spain?

by kh_hk 11y ago

ep103 11y ago

"see these big houses, two pools and an spa? They think they need all this, but have no time to enjoy themselves. Me? I have everything I ever wanted." I really needed to hear this today. I like this outlook. Thanks.

ljf 11y ago
An American tourist was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The tourist complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, "Only a little while." The tourist then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" The Mexican said, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs." The tourist then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life." The tourist scoffed, " I can help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you could run your ever-expanding enterprise." The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?" The tourist replied, "15 to 20 years." "But what then?" asked the Mexican. The tourist laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions." "Millions?...Then what?" The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."
- killface 11y ago
  That old man breaks his back requiring bed rest for 12 months and multiple dangerous and painful surgeries ... versus a guy who has a couple mil in the bank. It's a good parable, but doesn't stand up to too much scrutiny.
  - e12e 11y ago
    You're saying that if the old man worked harder, he'd be less likely to break his back? Or are you saying that if he worked harder, he'd only break his back after he made a few million?
    - ep103 11y ago
      He's saying that in real life the fisherman's job is a bit worse than presented, and the American's a bit better, due to things like healthcare, and financial planning for emergencies and retirement. And the correct response to that is yes, its a parable, the answer isn't to become a fisherman or necessarily start your business, but to find a good middleground for yourself that keeps the point of the parable in mind.
      - e12e 11y ago
        The way I read the parable, the point is that you can do blue collar work at a humane pace, work smart and have a good life. Or you can work yourself into the ground while life pass you by. I don't really see how "It's better to be born rich" adds much to the interpretation.
        ep103 11y ago
        lol, the point of the parable is to remember that you work to live, not live to work. I was responding to your parent post, that was basically just harping that the parable was a bit simplified.
        kaybe 11y ago
oaktowner 11y ago
I took a surfing lesson in Hawaii last week from a guy who has a degree from Florida State (business, if I'm not mistaken, but I'm also not positive). After graduating, he realized that he'd rather live in Hawaii and spend his days in the ocean than sitting at a desk. Yes, he could earn more money...but he's very happy doing what he does. He keeps in touch with friends that he graduated with, and while many of them would like to switch places with him, he says he wouldn't switch places with any. Of course, they may be setting themselves up for a better retirement, etc. But he has realized that a simple life that makes him happy is what he wants. Good on him.
- eli_gottlieb 11y ago
  And how does he pay for housing in such an expensive location as Hawaii?
  - oaktowner 11y ago
    We didn't talk about it -- but teaching surfing was definitely his full-time employment. But a quick Craigslist scan finds tons of apartments for less than $1,000 a month. He said that he leads a fairly simple life.

kamaal 11y ago

>>"see these big houses, two pools and an spa? They think they need all this, but have no time to enjoy themselves. Me? I have everything I ever wanted." Unfortunately a lot things have changed since those days. In fact a few centuries back you could have a lot of fun in life doing nothing at all. These days things are so organized, anybody who falls out of line is likely to through a great deal of suffering. Healthcare is very organized and expensive, you can't get a decent job today without education and the overall society is moving towards a trend where not having a certain set of things can leave you with social disability. >>One thing he usually says, contrary to what most people think is that life is long, really long. There's time for everything. This is very true, and this is why if you are going to live really long you better have a good cache of savings for your retirement.

rthomas6 11y ago
See here's the thing. Happiness is a state of mind, not a physical mode of being. Many people, including you, think that a person needs some parity with an invisible standard in order to feel contentment. But that's not true. You don't need anyone's permission to have fun, and you don't need to obtain anything to start enjoying your life. A few centuries ago, when you say people could have fun doing nothing at all, what you call "a great deal of suffering" in contemporary society is actually materially better than even the middle class lived back then. Much better. It's just that people are wired to compare themselves to their community, and by default that's what people base their self-worth and contentment on, unless they do some careful introspection and consciously change their source of sense of self-esteem. A few centuries ago, the average family lived on a small farm with little education, no running water, no electricity, and little excess. A large fraction of the children would die before their first birthday, and dying of bacterial infection was quite likely at any age. The boys could expect nothing more than a life full of hard physical work on the farm, and the girls could expect to get married or, if they were very lucky, get a profession like nursing or teaching. Yet, this average family was happy, and it wasn't because of their material possessions or adequate healthcare (clearly). It was because they were grateful for what they had, and because of a supportive community who were just like them and were always there for them. You're missing the point of the quote you pasted. His father had everything he ever wanted because he didn't value material wealth, and was perfectly content with what I imagine you (and probably me too) would call "suffering", because he had friends, family, hobbies, time, and relatively good health. That's really all we need.

joesmo 11y ago

I think he's absolutely right about life being long.

kzhahou 11y ago

"Excuse me, can i ask you a question? Are you happy?" "Well, i got a boat, good friends, and a trampoline... You tell me." Wise words from 30 Rock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiGBsz16MII https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiGBsz16MII

harperlee 11y ago

Just out of curiosity, where is that on Spain?