A young man on vacation was staring at the calm, blue sea thinking about lunch. A small boat laden with a large Yellowfin tuna docked near the pretty Mexican village. A lone fisherman jumped ashore.
“That’s a great catch,” said the tourist. “How long did it take you?” “Not so long,” said the fisherman. “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” “This one’s enough to keep my family provided for,” came the response.
“What do you do with the rest of your time?” inquired the visitor.
“I sleep late, I fish a little, I play with my children, then I have lunch, and take a siesta with my wife. We stroll into the village every evening. We sip wine, listen to the guitar players, and I play cards with my amigos. It’s a full and rich life, senor.”
“I think I can help you,” the visitor said. “I’m here on a vacation having just finished my MBA. You’ve got to spend more time fishing, buy yourself a bigger boat, make more money, and then perhaps several boats until you’ve got a fleet. Don’t sell your catch to a middleman. Sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. Then you can control the product, control the production, and control the distribution. You could then leave your small town behind, move to Mexico City, then maybe to Los Angeles, and eventually perhaps New York to run your own expanding company.”
“But senior, how long would this take?”
Oh, 15, 20 years.”
“But what then?”
“Well, that’s the best part,” the young man proudly stated. “When the time is right, you could float stock on the stock market and make millions of dollars.”
“Millions you say. And then what?”
“Well then you could retire. Move to a pretty village by the sea. Sleep late, fish a little, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evening, sip wine, listen to the sounds of the guitars, and play cards with your friends.”
