The Great American Dream

[Guest guest]

Greetings: I thought the List might enjoy this. B. D. Stephan

 

The 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 him to

catch them. The Mexican replied, " Only a little while. "

 

The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and

catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support

his family's needs. The American then asked, " But what do

you do with the rest of your time? "

 

The Mexican fisherman said, " 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 the

guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life. "

 

The American 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

LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding

enterprise. "

 

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

 

To which the American replied, " 15-20 years. "

 

" But what then? "

 

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. "