The Fisherman & The Businessman — What's the Real Point of Retirement Planning (131)

A simple fable can reveal a brutal truth about retirement: Sometimes the “plan” you’re chasing is the life you already have. We tell the story of The Fisherman and the Businessman to highlight one of the biggest mistakes we see in retirement planning and financial planning: Focusing on building the biggest pile of money instead of building the freedom to live the life you actually want.

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Thanks for Listening! 

Jonathan

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:04):
There's an old fable called The Fisherman and the
Businessman.
It's a simple story, butperfectly captures one of the
biggest mistakes I see peoplemake as they approach
retirement.
Let me tell you the story.
A wealthy businessman wasvacationing in a small coastal
village, and one afternoon henoticed a fisherman sitting by
his boat, relaxing, quietly justspending the day there by his

(00:28):
boat at the sea.
And the fisherman had alreadyfished for the day, and as the
businessman approached him, heasked, Why aren't you out
catching more fish?
And the fisherman replied, I'vecaught enough to support my
family's needs.
The businessman thought for amoment and said, Well, why don't
you stay out longer and catchmore fish?
Then what?
The fisherman asked.
Then you could buy a largerboat, replied the businessman.

(00:50):
Then what?
The fisherman asked.
Well, with a larger boat, youcould catch even more fish and
eventually buy multiple boatsand create a crew.
Then what?
You could build a fishingcompany, hire employees, you
could make a lot of money.
The fisherman paused, lookedback at the businessman, and
replied again, then what?

(01:12):
The businessman just smiled.
Eventually, you could retire andyou could move to a small
coastal village.
You could sleep in late, fish alittle, spend time with your
family, take afternoon naps, andenjoy life.
The fisherman looked at him andsaid, Isn't that what I'm
already doing?

(01:32):
So here's the retirement lesson.
I love this story because ithighlights something many people
don't stop and consider.
The goal of financial planning,the goal of retirement planning
isn't simply to accumulate thebiggest pile of money possible.
The goal is to create thefreedom to live the life you

(01:53):
actually want.
In fact, again, that's why I'vetalked about in the past coining
the phrase create the life youlove.
That is the goal, to create thefreedom and the life that you
love.
Now, don't misunderstand me.
I'm not suggesting peopleshouldn't have a business or
shouldn't save or invest,prepare for retirement.
I'm not saying that creatingbusinesses and hiring employees

(02:14):
is bad at all.
Actually, I think that's really,really good.
And what makes a lot of ourcountry and that's its woven
structure work is becausethere's small businesses
creating uh employment jobs.
But there's also many peoplethat aren't creating small
businesses and they have hadsuccessful careers working for

(02:37):
someone else.
Both of these avenues can getyou to the same place.
So as a financial advisor, Ispend every day helping people
create the life they love,preparing for retirement.
But what I often see is peoplewho have already won the game
financially, yet they keepplaying because they're afraid
to stop.

(02:58):
They've built the nest egg,they've paid off the house, the
retirement plan works, they'vecaught the fish to provide for
their family.
Yet they continue delayingretirement because they feel
they need just a little more.
Sometimes that extra year ofwork makes sense, but sometimes
it doesn't.
And the key is understandingwhether you're working towards

(03:20):
something or towards a goal, oryou're simply postponing a
decision.
And there comes a point whenaccumulating more money may
actually add less value thangaining another year of freedom.
The fisherman understoodsomething many people spend
their entire lives trying tolearn and oftentimes never

(03:42):
figure it out.
Money is only a tool, it's justa tool.
Freedom is the goal, theobjective.
If you're approachingretirement, you need to ask
yourself, are you still buildingthe life you want?
Or have you already built it andyou just haven't given yourself
your permission to enjoy it?
Make sure to like and subscribe.

(04:03):
Uh, need help determining oryou'd like help determining
whether you're truly ready toretire, we'd love to help create
a plan for you.
You can schedule some time inthe description of this video
directly on my calendar.
Be confident in your retirement.
Have a wonderful day.
Thanks for joining me on anotherepisode of What the Wealth.

(04:24):
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Your friend Aunt Judy, therandom guy in the office who's
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Wealth isn't about just thechick-chain.
It's about our choices, chances,and changing our financial

(04:44):
futures.
The information in this podcastis informational and general in
nature and does not take intoconsideration the listener's
personal circumstances.
This podcast is not intended tobe a substitute for specific in
financial, legal, or tax advice.
You should consult the approvedqualified professional prior to
making a final decision.
Securities offered through LPLFinancial, member FINRA SIPC.

(05:06):
Paradigm Wealth Partners is theother business name for
Independent Advisor Alliance.
Investment Advice offeredthrough Independent Advisor
Alliance, a registeredinvestment advisor, Independent
Advisor Alliance, and ParadigmWealth Partners are separate
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