A boat
docked in a tiny Mexican
village. An American tourist complimented the
Mexican fisherman on
the quality of his fish and asked how long it took
him to catch
them.

“Not very long,” answered the Mexican.

“But then, why
didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the

tourist.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet
his
needs and those of his family.

The tourist asked, “So
what do you do with the rest of your time?”

“I sleep late, fish a
little, play with my children, spend time with
my wife… In the
evenings I go into the village to see my friends, have
a few drinks,
play the guitar, chase the senioras, and sing a few
songs. I have a
full life.”

The tourist said, “I have a M.B.A. from Stanford and
I can help you.
You should start by fishing longer every day. You
can then sell the
extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue
, you can buy a bigger boat.
With the extra money the larger boat
will bring, you can buy a second one
and a third one and so on
until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.
Instead of selling your
fish to a middle man, you can negotiate directly
with the processing
plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can
then leave this
little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or
even New
Jersey! From there you can direct your huge enterprise.”

“How long
would that take?” asked the Mexican.

“Twenty, perhaps
twenty-five years,” replied the tourist.

“And after that?” asked the
Mexican.

“Afterwards? That’s when it gets really interesting,”
answered the
tourist, laughing. “When your business gets really big, you
can start
selling stocks and make millions!”

“Millions?
Really?” asked the Mexican. “And after that?”

The tourist replied,
“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a
tiny village n
ear the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch
a few
fish, spend time with your wife, and spend your evenings drinking
and
playing the guitar with your friends!”