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Issue #53 - Tuesday 27th January 2026 · Read time ~3 min
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Good morning, Team
This email series is simple, to bring you more than just running insights. And, I can’t stop thinking about The Mexican fisherman parable.
"Each morning, just as the sun rises, a fisherman pushes his small boat into the water. He isn’t rushed. He isn’t stressed. He fishes for a few hours, long enough to catch what his family needs, and a little extra to sell at the market.
By late morning, he’s back on shore.
He eats with his family.
Plays with his children.
Takes a nap in the afternoon sun.
In the evening, he meets friends, shares food, laughs, and enjoys life.
One day, an American businessman visiting the village notices this pattern and strikes up a conversation.
He tells the fisherman that he’s talented, that if he stayed out longer and caught more fish, he could buy a bigger boat. With a bigger boat, he could hire more people. With more people, he could build a company.
The businessman keeps going.
He says the company could grow beyond the village. Move to the big city. Distribution at scale. Eventually, the business could be listed on the stock exchange. One day, the fisherman could sell it all for a lot of money.
The fisherman listens politely.
Then he asks a simple question:
“And then what?”
The businessman replies,
“Well… then you could move back home, wake up, fish a little in the morning, eat with your family, play with your children, take a nap in the afternoon, and spend your evenings with friends.”
--
So often, we imagine how everything would change if we had more money.
If we were richer.
If we won the lottery.
If life finally unlocked.
But I can’t stop thinking about the opposite question:
What wouldn’t change? For me - there is no grandiosity here - but my mornings right now ...
I wake up early and train with a friend.
That wouldn’t change.
I go home and have coffee with my wife.
That wouldn’t change.
I take my little boy to nursery.
That wouldn’t change.
I walk my dog.
That wouldn’t change.
I go to work and enjoy working on my small business.
That wouldn’t change.
And that’s made me realise two things.
First:
Pay attention to the parts of your routine you do because you love them.
The things you get to do, not the things you feel you have to do.
Second:
Design a life that doesn’t need changing in some fictional future where money is more plentiful.
A life you don’t need to escape from.
A life you’d still choose, even if nothing else changed.
That’s all for today.
If you haven’t already, you can try Prerun, and in doing so, support a small business.
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