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There’s a quote I return to over and over again: “I mean, I can buy anything I want, basically, but I can’t buy time.” Warren Buffett’s words have stayed with me for years, and the longer I live, the more I understand the depth of that truth. As someone who spent a huge portion of my life chasing speed, medals, and measurable wins, I used to believe time was something I could out-train, out-work, or out-optimize. But time has a way of humbling us. It becomes the teacher who reminds us what really matters when everything else slips into the background.
This came to mind again when I revisited a story many people have heard: the fisherman and the banker. Each time I read it, a new layer reveals itself. It’s simple, yet it cuts straight to the heart of what it means to live intentionally (and in the present). In my work as a fortune 400 professional speaker, I often share stories like this to spark reflection. People rarely realize how much they’re racing through life until they finally pause long enough to hear themselves think.
As someone who now speaks on high performance strategy, reinvention, motivation and leadership, the fisherman’s perspective resonates with me deeply. It reminds me that fulfillment doesn’t come from endless pursuit. It comes from being in sync with purpose, here and now, and with the life we envision for ourselves.
The first time I heard the fisherman’s story, I admired its poetic simplicity, but with every new season of life, the message becomes sharper. The fisherman wasn’t chasing “more” because he already knew what “enough” meant; his joy came from time, relationships, and presence, not from scaling a fishing operation. Meanwhile, the banker embodied the world many of us grew up in, a world obsessed with more effort, more hours, more success, more recognition.
His instinct was to optimize and expand until the fisherman’s simple life looked impressive by society’s standards. Having spent years in a high-performance environment, I recognize that mindset well. It’s the same driving force behind athletes, entrepreneurs, and leaders who constantly push forward, often without questioning why. And while ambition can be powerful, it can also be blinding.
This story never gets old because it reminds us that fulfillment isn’t found in endless pursuit; it’s found in clarity, presence, and alignment with what truly matters.
In my role as a strategic thinker, flow state chaser, and of course corporate leadership speaker, I often see folks who are living the banker’s mindset: constantly thinking ahead, planning for the next milestone, and delaying joy until they “get there.” But the truth is, there may never be a perfect “there.” There’s only here. And learning to value “here” changes everything.
Throughout my athletic career, I believed that success followed a predictable path: set a goal, work relentlessly, achieve it, repeat. It was a formula that worked on the ice. But off the ice, in real life, the formula is much more complex. Success, I discovered, is rarely linear. It bends, shifts, and evolves as we grow.
The banker’s plan was logical. Work hard for twenty years, build an empire, retire early, and finally enjoy life. But the fisherman already had the lifestyle the banker believed required decades of sacrifice. This is where the story flips the script. It forces us to question the cultural narrative we’ve been handed: that life’s joy comes after the grind, not during it.
There came a point in my career when I was saying yes to everything. Opportunities, projects, meetings, events, I was busy, successful, and exhausted. From the outside, it looked like I was thriving. On the inside, something felt misaligned. That misalignment was a whisper telling me I had drifted away from what truly mattered.
Many high performers experience this. They chase goals without pausing to confirm whether those goals still reflect who they are. They achieve, but feel disconnected. They succeed, but feel empty. And eventually, they start to realize that success without aligning with your true north is just noise.
That’s why all of these “soft skills” have become ones that are now required! Things like motivation and leadership must always begin with clarity. Clarity about values. Clarity about purpose. Clarity about what you’re actually striving toward. The fisherman had clarity. The banker had ambition. And when the two meet, the story becomes a mirror for all of us.
For years, I viewed being present as something soft, something you practice only during meditation or quiet reflection. But I’ve learned that this presence is actually one of the most powerful performance tools we have. It sharpens thinking, strengthens relationships, and deepens awareness. It’s the difference between reacting and responding, between burnout and balance.
Also, being present isn’t always passive. It’s active. It’s intentional. It’s the conscious choice to show up fully, without letting the past or future hijack the moment. On the ice, the best races of my life required complete presence: no fear, no distraction, just focus. Off the ice, presence has helped me navigate leadership, personal growth, and major life transitions.
The fisherman lived a life defined by presence. His days were simple, but they were full of connection, full of joy, full of meaning. He wasn’t delaying happiness until some far-off future. He was experiencing it daily.
As a professional speaker, I often talk about the power of presence in leadership. When leaders are present, their teams feel supported. When parents are present, their children feel seen. When individuals are present, their inner world becomes clearer. Presence transforms everything it touches.
One of the most powerful lessons in the story is the idea of “enough.” It’s a concept many of us grapple with because our culture glorifies the pursuit of more. But “more” is a moving target. When we chase it, it keeps running. “Enough,” on the other hand, is grounding. It’s stabilizing. It invites us to define success for ourselves.
The fisherman’s version of “enough” was rooted in time, family, community, and joy. The banker’s version was rooted in wealth, scale, and future rewards. Neither is wrong. But only one is intentional.
In business as a executive coach and corporate leadership speaker, I often ask leaders to reflect on what “enough” looks like for them; not for the industry, not for their peers, not for societal expectations. Many realize they’ve never actually defined it. Without that definition, they chase endlessly without ever arriving.
“Enough” isn’t about limiting ambition. It’s about aligning ambition with meaning. When we choose our own version of enough, we reclaim agency. We reclaim time. And ultimately, we reclaim our lives.
The fisherman and the banker represent two mindsets we all navigate throughout life. One is rooted in hustle, the other in harmony. One looks outward for validation, the other inward for clarity. One delays fulfillment, the other chooses it daily.
As I continue my own journey and continue speaking about motivation and leadership, I find myself returning to the fisherman’s wisdom more often. It reminds me that time is the most valuable currency we have. And how we spend it determines the quality of our lives.
When we choose presence over pressure, clarity over chaos, and alignment over endless pursuit, we begin to experience what the fisherman already knew; life is happening here, now, and it’s meant to be lived full