Here is the tale of the Mexican Fisherman. Read on…
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 yellowfin 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 he stay out longer and catch more fish?
The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate 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 siestas 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 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 New York City, 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?” 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 siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you
could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
I love it when my colleague send such lame, funny Email. I was trying my very best to stifle my laughter in my cubicle when one of my colleague from the same department erupted into hysterical laughter and excitedly ask the dept to look at the Email. That’s when the whole dept turned into a giggling bunch of ”cuckoos” – commenting on the Email and telling others lame, funny jokes! A great way to end our tired day!
One of my colleague mentioned that it’s our dept 5 o’clock syndrome. Why? Somehow, we always manage to talk crap and joke around at this particular time. And everyone will have a good laugh about it.
However, this story does make me wonder – “Why in the world do we have to work so hard for? Isn’t a laid-back, relaxed life better for all of us since we are gonna die anyway and we are not even sure if we can enjoy what we reap?”
Anywho, can anyone think of the moral to this story?
