For anyone looking for some perspective on this fine Friday

I ran across this little story/proverb on another forum I frequent. There are quite a few people wondering how they're going to provide for their families right now. We're all out here going toe to toe with industry and commerce each day. I wish you all the very best!

Here it is:

An American investment banker 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 you stay out longer and catch more fish?"

The Mexican said, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs."

The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The fisherman replied "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."

The banker 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 Los Angeles and eventually New
York where you will run your ever-expanding enterprise."

The fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?"

To which the banker replied, "15 to 20 years."

"But what then?" asked the Mexican.

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?...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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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by M A on March 6, 2009 at 11:03am

So true!!
Too bad I can't fish all year in this cold weather! (Will the snow ever melt??)

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Permalink Reply by Christine Cirone on March 6, 2009 at 11:28am

love it! Thanks for sharing.

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Smith on March 6, 2009 at 11:48am

I love a little Friday perspective.

Thanks for the reminder, Jer.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on March 6, 2009 at 2:27pm

Rayanne - who says band stuff needs to be abandoned? Let's just find a real band!

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Permalink Reply by Brendan Delaney on March 7, 2009 at 2:37pm

Later in life, he was an old man who still fished every day, but he never caught fish. He had bad luck. His amigos and their wives wouldn't let their sons go fishing with him anymore, because of his bad luck. There was a boy who liked the old man, but he also wasn't allowed to go out fishing with him. So the old man had to go out alone. One day, the old man caught a big marlin. But it was too big to bring in the boat. So the old man towed the mighty fish behind the boat. But then the sharks came and ate the fish. The old man tried to fight them off, but there were too many. So when the old man finally got back to the dock with the fish, the sharks had eaten everything but the head and the tail. The old man's amigos were amazed by the size of the big fish the old man had caught. But the old man was sad, because he had let the fish down.