I’m about to share THE most important thing you can know about offers.

And the common quote that leads most astray 

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying:

Teach A Man To Fish Quote

If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day… If you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime.

Well when it comes to offers that’s actually the OPPOSITE of what you want to do.

Back when I was a kid living with my parents in Miami, my dad spent every spare moment he had fishing in Biscayne Bay.

My dad owned a 19 foot "center console" boat and he loved it.

But it required a lot of work: towing it to the ramp and back, all the maintenance, and ruined trips due to dead batteries or engine issues.

So one weekend he splurged and booked a chartered fishing trip in the Florida Keys.

Here’s how it worked:

We arrived at dawn, just before 6 am.

By that time the crew had been hard at work for at least an hour making sure:

… the boat was fueled up and the engine was working

… the live bait was freshly purchased and was flipping around in the live well

… the expensive rods and reels were safely stowed but pre-loaded with bait so the captain could get us right on top of the fish at a moment’s notice

Our job:

Step onto the boat without falling in, find a seat... and enjoy the fishing.

That was it.

Have a good time.

Later that day…

Around 4 pm we came back to the dock and stepped off the boat.

By this time the boat was covered with salt, grime, and gross stuff and needed a full cleaning.

But that wasn't our job.

So the crew jumped into action and started to clean the boat from bow to stern.

Part of their job included bringing our cooler full of fish off the boat and cutting them into little slices of fish meat.

But that also wasn't our job.

So one of the crew mates expertly sliced and diced the fish into thick juicy filets that would soon be our dinner for the next 3 days.

He packed the fresh fish meat into huge Ziploc bags and handed them to the captain.

The captain walked over to my dad and handed him the bags full of fish.

At the same time my dad handed the captain his Amex credit card.

The captain disappeared into the boathouse to charge the card and left us standing on the dock watching the crew finish their end of day ballet.

That's when I noticed something.

My dad is completely quiet and still as a statue.

So I turn and look at him.

But he isn't looking at me.

He's still looking in the direction of the crew… but not at them… 

He has a soft unfocused gaze and a warm smile spreading on his face. Like he's soaking in this moment and hoping it will etch into his memory permanently.

He must notice I'm looking because he speaks without taking his eyes off the crew.

“You know, son. THAT is the way to go fishing. It sure wasn’t cheap. But HOLY SMOKES that is the BEST money I’ve spent in a LONG time.

And there’s the big lesson.

Amazon sells $7 books on “How to Fish”.

Walmart and Amazon and hundreds of stores sell fishing lures a hooks for $10 a piece.

But the charter captain had a different offer.

His offer was EXACTLY what my dad wanted:

A fun filled day of fishing, with zero work, zero stress, and quality time spent between a father and son that will still be remembered 35 years later in 2023.

The closer your can get your offer to delivering the end result the more you’ll have people eagerly saying “Take my money!” with a smile on their face.