How Many Olives Do You Need?

Out on a walk on the island of Hydra, a vacationing Greek American comes upon an old Greek man sitting on a rock, sipping a glass of Ouzo, and lazily staring at the sun setting into the sea.

The wealthy American notices there are olive trees growing on the hills behind the old Greek, but that they are untended, with olives just dropping here and there onto the ground. He asks the old Greek who owns the trees.

“They’re mine,” the Greek replies.

“Don’t you gather the olives?” the American asks.

“I just pick the one when I want one,” the old man says.

“But don’t you realize that if you pruned the trees and picked the olives at their peak, you could sell them? In America, everybody is crazy about virgin olive oil, and they pay a damned good price for it.”

“What would I do with the money?” the old Greek asks.

“Well, you could build yourself a big house and hire servants to do everything for you.”

“And then what would I do?”

“You could do anything you want!”

“You mean, like sit outside and sip Ouzo at sunset?”

The best stories are written by life itself. An older man in Greece, balanced and content with his life, happy with what he has, was challenged by a stranger, a tourist, to live better, to do more, to have more success.

In my own life, I have been both people. At times, I was the one who asked the questions, and other times, the one being questioned. While traveling and exploring different countries, I often wondered what it would take to “help” these poor people live a better life. With the arrogance of youth and the ignorance of someone who had the privilege of living in a “civilized,” wealthy country, I thought everybody must want what we have. And by doing so, I downgraded what they had. It never even occurred to me that they didn’t want my life, but instead often pitied me, the young, stressed-out woman, who chased money and success from dawn to dusk and never found the time to enjoy the moment.

Success: Can it be measured in money or in olives?

A few years back, a lady stopped by my workshop and asked me about my plans and my little business. She loved my work, and she was full of ideas about what I could do. “You should have a bigger workroom, some employees, and bigger projects,” she said, and I smiled.

She made me feel the same way the old man in the story must have felt.

Some of us are already where we want to be, so why change it?

I believe we all measure success differently, and we have to figure out what works for us. Of course, we have to make a living, but we should never forget to live, even if we don’t have much compared to others.

Work to live, not live to work!

I think that’s my top tip for success.

Daily writing prompt

What’s your top tip to be successful in life?

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