A boat docked in a tinyMexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on thequality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them. 'Notvery long,' answered the Mexican.
'But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?' asked the American.
The Mexican explained thathis small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of hisfamily.
The American asked, 'But what do you do with the rest of your time?'
'I sleep late, fish a little, playwith my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings,I go into the village to see my
friends, play the guitar, and sing a few songs…I have a full life.'
The American interrupted, 'I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you!
You should start by fishinglonger every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extrarevenue, you can buy a bigger boat.'
'And after that?' asked the Mexican.
'With the extra money the larger boatwill bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you havean entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to amiddle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants andmaybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this littlevillage and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even NewYork City! From there you can direct yourhuge new enterprise.'
'How long would that take?' asked the Mexican.
'Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,' replied the American.
'And after that?'
'Afterwards? Well my Friend, That's when it gets really interesting,' answered the American, laughing. 'When your business gets really big, you can startselling stocks and make millions!'
'Millions? Really? And after that?' said the Mexican.
'After that you'llbe able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play withyour children, catch a few fish, take a
siesta with your wife and spend your evenings doing what you like and enjoyingyour friends.'