FROM MONEYLOVE--ANOTHER PROSPERITY TALE

In the preceding post, we look at the trade-offs one has to make in some life situations. The story reminded me of one, with a similar moral, that I had in Moneylove. Interestingly enough, both stories are set on a boat, though I think I prefer the fisherman fable as it provides more elaborate detail. I like it so much, in fact, that I am seriously considering putting it in the revised and annotated edition of Moneylove right after the earlier story. Here then, is that story:

The well-known literary agent Paul Reynolds tells of a boat trip he took at the age of twenty-one. He met an elderly, distinguished-looking gentleman on the boat.

The older man asked him what his aspirations in life were, and Paul responded, "To make as much money as possible."

To this the elderly gentleman replied, "Oh, I can tell you how to make a lot of money."

Paul said, "Tell me."

And the man said, "All you have to do is find a town somewhere in America that is growing. There are plenty of them. Find a job in that town, any job. And immediately start investing 10 percent of your earnings in real estate in that town. In thirty or forty years, you'll be guaranteed a fortune!"

Well, that sounded pretty simple, so Paul asked the man, "Did you do it?"

And the man responded, "No. It wasn't worth it."

That story appears in the chapter entitled Worklove and is used to illustrate the importance of doing work you love, work you can be passionate about, work that brings its own reward in the simple doing of it. Anything else is never worth it.

Jerry