A fisher had finished work early and was sitting next to her boat on the dock. A LinkedIn influencer walked by, clearly upset by seeing the woman displaying such laziness.

“Why aren’t you out fishing?”, he inquired forcefully.

The fisher responded: “Because I have caught enough fish for today. My family will eat and I can sell some for profit. Now I’m taking it easy and enjoying the afternoon sun.”

“Why don’t you catch more fish when you have time to spare?”, asked the LinkedIn influencer, somewhat bewildered.

“And then what?”, she wondered.

“You could sell it and make more profit. With that money you could buy a bigger engine for your boat. You could go further out to sea, fish on deeper waters, catch more fish and buy nylon nets. That could give you even more fish and make you even more money! Soon you’d have enough money to buy another boat. You could create a whole fishing fleet, sell it and make a fortune.”

“And then what?”, the fisher pondered under her hat.

“Then you can relax, unwind and enjoy life!“, he explained.

“Well, what do you think I’m doing now?”, she laughed.

The influencer sighed, took a selfie, and decided to post something beautiful on LinkedIn instead. There were fewer challenges there. He was fishing for likes and hadn't caught enough of them yet.

——-

Wishing everyone a happy midsummer!

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This is an adaptation of a short parable noted down by German writer Heinrich Theodor Böll in 1963 in 'Anekdote zur Senkung der Arbeitsmoral'. It was likely invented and told in different versions long before that.