| An American
businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican
village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.
Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna.
The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of
his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The
Mexican replied only a little while. The American then
asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?
The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's
immediate needs. The American then asked, but what do you
do with the rest of your time? The Mexican fisherman
said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my
children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into
the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar
with my amigos, I have a full and busy life,senor.
The American scoffed, "I am a
Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more
time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat,
with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy
several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of
fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a
middleman you would sell directly to the processor,
eventually opening your own cannery. You would control
the product, processing and distribution. You would need
to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to
Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will
run your expanding enterprise."
"The Mexican fisherman asked,
"But senor, how long will this all take?" To
which the American replied, "15-20 years.
"But what then, senor?
The American laughed and said that's
the best part. When the time is right you would announce
an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and
become very rich, you would make millions.
Millions, senor? Then what?
The American said, "Then you
would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village
where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your
kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village
in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your
guitar with your amigos."
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