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The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman
Plus: Tesla's We Robot event, AI predictions, Choosing your struggle and much more...
Luca Bersella
October 13, 2024
Hey everyone,
This is your Sunday Space, where I serve up the best ideas, tools and resources I’ve found each week as we explore the technology shaping the future.
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IDEAS
The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman
Created with Midjourney
There is a parable that I love and revisit every so often. It is jam-packed with life lessons and insight. It goes something like this:
An American businessman goes on holiday to Mexico.
He gets taken out fishing by a local. During the trip, he asks the fisherman how he spends his time.
The fisherman says, “I fish a little in the morning to catch enough to feed my family. I then go back home, cook the fish I caught and spend time with my wife and children around the fire.”
The businessman exclaims, “That’s stupid! Here’s a better idea. You should actually be spending most of your day fishing and sell the surplus fish at the market.”
The fisherman asks, curiously, “Why would I do that?”
“Well, once you’ve got the additional money,” explains the businessman, “you could start to employ some of your friends who would come fish with you. That way, you could catch even more fish to sell at the market for even more money.”
The fisherman asks again, “Why would I do that?”
The businessman continues, growing excited, “Well once you’ve done that, you could incorporate a company in America and start a canning factory. Then you’ll own the entire production process. Then, you could grow the company and sell it for a tonne of money.”
The fisherman, expression unchanging, asks for a final time, “Why would I do that?”
The businessmen thinks for a while and answers, “Well… I guess once you’ve done that, you could fish a little in the morning. Then you could go back home to cook the fish you caught and spend time with your wife and children around the fire...”
This story is beautiful because it highlights the circular nature of ambition. The thing we chase relentlessly every day will allow us to return to a “simple life.” The funny thing is that we already have what we ultimately desire.
Humans living in the Western heart of capitalism (you and me both) are great at ignoring this fact. Some go their whole lives without realising it.
That lesson is great, but I want to extend it personally to you and me. People who are already chasing economic success.
Because we’re all chasing economic success, the key issue is whether we are playing the right game available to you in the chase.
There are an infinite number of games we can play within our careers. We could play the technology game, the VC game, the high finance game or a mix of them.
The right game will bring us inherent fulfilment from playing that game. Not from reaping the game’s rewards.
Put simply, the game of scaling a fishing business in itself brings fulfilment. Not the riches that come as a by-product of playing that game well.
Picking the right game is a personal choice only you can make.
Make the right one.
INSIGHTS
1 Article
Source: TechCrunch
This week, Tesla held its biggest product event ever (aptly named, ‘We, Robot’), unveiling new prototypes in autonomous transport and robotics. Here’s what dropped:
Cybercab Robotaxi: A sleek, two-seater Cybertruck variant designed for Tesla’s ride-sharing fleet. Priced under $30,000, it features no steering wheel or pedals, inductive charging, and projects a ~$0.20/mile operating cost.
Robovan: An autonomous bus that can carry 20 people. This is aimed at solving high-density transportation problems.
Optimus: For the first time, Tesla’s humanoid robot was shown performing tasks such as bartending and interacting socially at the event. Elon's vision is to revolutionise physical labour in both domestic and industrial settings.
This might have been Elon’s version of the 2007 iPhone presentation. We all look back at that moment as the true birth of the digital economy.
People may someday look back at this week as the moment robots integrated into our lives. This scares most people, but optimists believe the economic opportunity is virtually limitless.
There is still a long way to go—the Cybercab will only go into production in 2026, and Optimus’ competition is stiff.
But if there’s one thing we’ve learnt, never bet against Elon. Who wants to spend time folding laundry and pouring drinks anyway?
1 Post
Predictions for the three most important technological developments that will happen by 2025:
1) We will get net-gain nuclear fusion working at prototype scale
2) AGI will feel within reach to many people in the industry
3) Gene editing will have cured at least one major disease— Sam Altman (@sama)
4:12 PM • Jan 5, 2019
1 Video
THOUGHTS
Quote I’m Pondering
“Wanting to be happy and feel loved and have a great job means nothing—we all want that.
Knowing what you’re willing to give up for those things means everything—it determines who you are.
The person you marry is the person you fight with. The house you buy is the house you repair. The dream job you take is the job you stress over.
Everything comes with an inherent sacrifice—whatever makes us feel good will also inevitably make us feel bad.
What pain do you want to sustain? What are you willing to struggle for?”
— Mark Manson
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— Luca
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