A Wise Amigo!
The story is told of an American businessman who took a vacation to a small coastal Mexican village on doctor’s orders. Unable to sleep after an urgent phone call from the office the 1st morning, he walked out to the pier to clear his head.A small boat with just one fisherman had docked and inside the boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish.
“How long did it take you to catch them?” the American asked.
“Only a little while,” the Mexican replied in surprisingly good English.
“Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” the American then asked.
“I have enough to support my family and give a few to friends,” the Mexican said as he unloaded them into a basket.
“But… what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican looked up and smiled. “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Julia and 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 laughed and stood tall. “Sir, I’m a Harvard M.B.A. and can help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. In no time you could buy several boats with the increased haul. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats.”
He continued, “Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the consumers, eventually opening up your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village, of course and move to Mexico City, then to Los Angeles and eventually New York City, where you could run your expanding enterprise with proper management.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But senor, how long will all this take?”
To which the American replied, “15−20 years. 25 tops.”
“But then what 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?”
“Then you would retire and move to a small coastal village, where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos… ”
About The Author
Paul Thérond
Paul Therond is a full time Web Entrepreneur and co-founder of 4Front eMarketing. His passion is investing into up and coming people and ideas that have the potential for worldwide impact.
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