Ben's Blog

Truth

An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with one fisherman docked. Inside the boat were several large yellowfin 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 he didn’t stay out longer to 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 fisherman replied, “I sleep late, 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 Stanford MBA, and could help you. You should spend more time fishing, and with the profits, buy a bigger boat to hold more fish. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you could buy a whole fleet of boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, after that open up your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small coastal village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually to NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.” The Mexican then asked, “But senor, how long will this take?” The American replied, “About 15-20 years.” “But what then senor?” The American smiled and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would sell your stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.” “Millions, senor? Then what?” “Then you’d retire, move to a small coastal fishing village, sleep late, play with your grandchildren, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village where you would sip wine, and play guitar with your amigos.”

Wow.