Parable of the Mexican Fisherman

The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman

An American investment banker was vacationing in a small coastal village in Mexico. One morning, he saw a fisherman returning to the dock with several large tuna in his small boat.

The banker complimented him on the quality of his fish and asked how long it had taken to catch them.

“Only a little while,” the fisherman replied.

“Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” the banker asked.

The fisherman shrugged. “I have enough to support my family’s needs.”

“But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The fisherman smiled. “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, and 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 have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you. You should spend more time fishing. With the proceeds, you could buy a bigger boat. With the profits from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats. Eventually, you’d have a fleet! Instead of selling to a middleman, you could sell directly to the processor—maybe even open your own cannery. You could control the product, processing, and distribution. You’d need to move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, then maybe New York to run your expanding enterprise.”

The fisherman asked, “But how long will this take?”

“Fifteen to twenty years,” the banker replied.

“And then?”

The banker laughed. “That’s the best part! When the time is right, you’d announce an IPO, sell your company stock, and become very rich. You’d make millions!”

“Millions? Then what?”

“Then,” the banker said, “you could retire. Move to a small coastal village, sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, and spend your evenings drinking wine and playing guitar with your amigos.”

The fisherman smiled, already living that very life.