THE NEW RICH

In Tim Ferris’s book the 4 hour work week, a fable is told of an American businessman who took a vacation to a small coastal Mexican village on doctor’s orders.

Unable to sleep after an urgent phone call from the office the first morning, he walked out to the pier to clear his head. A small boat with just one fisherman had docked, and inside the boat were several large yellow-fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish.

“How long did it take you to catch them?” the American asked.

“Only a little while,” the Mexican replied in surprisingly good English.

“Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” the American then asked.

“I have enough to support my family and give a few to friends,” the Mexican said as he unloaded them into a basket.

“But … What do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican looked up and smiled. “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Julia, and stroll into the village each evening, where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, señor.”

The American laughed and stood tall. “Sir, I’m a Harvard M.B.A. and can help you. You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. In no time, you could buy several boats with the increased haul. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats.” He continued, “Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the consumers, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village, of course, and move to Mexico City, then to Los Angeles, and eventually New York City, where you could run your expanding enterprise with proper management.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, señor, how long will all this take?”

To which the American replied, “15–20 years. 25 tops.”

“But what then, señor?”

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.”

“Millions, señor? Then what?”

“Then you would retire and move to a small coastal fishing village, where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos …”

This fable elaborates the narrative of the new definition of rich. In today’s world, the word rich has evolved to mean an individual who has the resource of time on their hands. Time to spend with the people they love, doing activities that they deeply cherish and that make life meaningful to them.

Flexibility in working hours has become a necessity. The widely accepted 9-5 tradition is slowly being shrugged upon and phased out, hereby necessitating a need to adopt a more accepted approach to income generation.

The world as is described is becoming a global village. With the advent of technology, global citizens can reach out to each other for products or service delivery at the comfort of their homes. This has led to the creation of online work which when well approached, can allow an individual to eat their cake and still have it.

First to demystify a misconception that online work is an illusion, online work is real work. It can give an individual the best of worlds, freedom and money. However the dynamics of online work must be thoroughly understood or one may end up being duped.

As it is expressed in a popular saying, “if asked to cut down a tree, a great deal of time should be spent sharpening the axe”.

To delve into the online work world, one needs to know how to go about it, how to sniff a con from miles away amongst many other things. It is of paramount importance that one is adequately prepared before diving into the deep end.

Daproim Africa has already thought this through and has prepared a comprehensive course on what to do and how to do it. Make the first steps, register and begin your walk towards liberation. Be like the Mexican fisherman, the New Rich.