THE STRUGGLE:

The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But
the waters close to
Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to
feed the Japanese
population, fishing boats got bigger and went
farther than ever. The
farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to
bring in the fish.

If the return trip took more than a few
days, the fish were not
fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste. To
solve this problem,
fishing companies installed freezers on their
boats. They would catch
the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed
the boats to go
farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese
could taste the
difference between fresh and frozen and they did
not like frozen fish.

The frozen fish brought a lower price. So
fishing companies
installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish
and stuff them in the
tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing
around, the fish stopped
moving. They were tired and dull, but alive.
Unfortunately, the
Japanese could still taste the difference.
Because the fish did not
move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste.
The Japanese preferred
the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish
fish. So how did Japanese
fishing companies solve this problem? How do they
get fresh-tasting
fish to Japan?

If you were consulting the fish industry,
what would you recommend?

As soon as you reach your goals, such as
finding a wonderful mate,
starting a successful company, paying off your
debts or whatever, you
might lose your passion. You don't need to work
so hard so you relax.
You experience the same problem as lottery
winners who waste their
money, wealthy heirs who never grow up and bored
homemakers who get
addicted to prescription drugs.

Like the Japanese fish problem, the best
solution is simple. It was
observed by L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1950's.

"Man thrives, oddly enough, only in the
presence of a challenging
environment."- L. Ron Hubbard

The Benefits of a Challenge:

The more intelligent, persistent and
competent you are, the more
you enjoy a good problem. If your challenges are
the correct size, and
if you are steadily conquering those challenges,
you are happy. You
think of your challenges and get energized. You
are excited to try new
solutions. You have fun. You are alive!

How Japanese Fish Stay Fresh:

To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese
fishing companies still
put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a
small shark to each tank.
The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish
arrive in a very lively
state. The fish are challenged.

Recommendations:

Instead of avoiding challenges, jump into
them. Beat the heck out
of them. Enjoy the game. If your challenges are
too large or too
numerous, do not give up. Failing makes you
tired. Instead, reorganize.
Find more determination, more knowledge, more
help.

If you have met your goals, set some bigger
goals. Once you meet
your personal or family needs, move onto goals
for your group, the
society, even mankind. Don't create success and
lie in it. You have
resources, skills and abilities to make a
difference.

Put a shark in your tank and see how far you
can really go!