Teach a Man to Fish... and Continue Forever

You've heard the saying "Give a man fish, and he eats for a day. Teach him to fish, and he eats for a lifetime."

Did you know that this phrase, when pushed to its limits, can reveal a vast store of possibilities? You could continue the proverb by saying "Teach him to teach OTHERS to fish, and he has a Fishing school. Teach him to sell fish, and he has a business. Teach him to wholesale fish, and he has a bigger business. Teach him to invest the profits of his wholesale fishing business in huge trawlers, and he has a worldwide fishing business. Teach him to learn everything there is to know about the business of fishing in his country, and he may become a Fisheries Minister."

There is a real-life parallel here: the story of Susi Pudjiastuti. She was a fish distributor in Indonesia in the 1990's. She found that there was no efficient way to transport the lobsters she sold to Jakarta and other cities, so she bought a Cessna Grand Caravan airplane. Business grew, so she purchased another plane. Business grew more, so she turned her fish transport gig into an airline: Susi Air.

Then the Christmas tsunami struck Indonesia in 2004. It was incredibly difficult to move emergency supplies into the stricken areas with larger aircraft, so NGOs contracted with Susi Air to deliver the goods. They flew dozens of missions and no doubt saved many lives.

Years later, partly because of this experience, Susi Pudjiastuti was appointed as Fisheries Minister by the President of Indonesia.

And it all started by learning to fish.

We use this saying at AI Happiness Accelerator, because it serves as a valuable thought experiment. We ask "This particular feeling-state is valuable. How can we intensify it? How can we make instances of it more regular? How can we get it to improve our relationships? How can we teach it? How can we get others to spread it? How can we make single examples of it spread worldwide?"

If you play with what we call the Portals, you'll find that there is no limit to how far you can take them. Say you start a Gratitude practice. You determine what you are thankful for. You find what others are grateful for. You share on a Zoom call. You post on a social media gratitude group which reaches thousands around the globe. (On Facebook alone, there are at least 5 Gratitude groups with more than a million members). If you are consistent, you will eventually inspire and be inspired by many strangers you would never have met otherwise.

All because you asked yourself: "I could just EAT this fish, but what more could I do?"