There once was an old man who went fishing with a straight hook.

He sat by the Wei River every day, a bamboo pole in his hands, a hook with no curve dangling three feet above the water. Villagers laughed. "Old fool, you'll never catch anything that way."

The old man smiled. "I'm not fishing for fish."

His name was Jiang Ziya. He was seventy-two years old and had spent his life studying the arts of war, government, and the Tao. But despite his wisdom, he had never been called to serve.

One day, Lord Ji Chang of Zhou was traveling along the Wei River when he noticed the strange fisherman. Intrigued, he approached.

"Old man, why do you fish with a straight hook?"

"Because I wait for someone who is willing to be caught."

Lord Ji Chang recognized wisdom when he heard it. He knelt before the old man and begged him to become his strategist.

"My bones are old. I cannot walk so far."

Without hesitation, Lord Ji Chang lifted the old man onto his back and carried him eight hundred steps to his carriage.

"For each step, your dynasty shall rule one year," Jiang Ziya said.

That day, the Zhou dynasty's eight-hundred-year reign was sealed. Jiang Ziya would go on to hold the Investiture Scroll — the list of those destined to become gods.

The greatest catch comes to those who do not chase, but wait.