An investment banker stood at the pier of a small coastal village when a small boat docked. Inside were several large yellowfin tuna. The banker was impressed.
"How long did it take you to catch those?" he asked.
"Only a little while," the fisherman replied, tying off his boat.
"Why don't you stay out longer and catch more?"
"Because this is enough to support my family's immediate needs."
The banker looked confused. "But... what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my kids, take siestas with my wife, and stroll into the village each evening to sip wine and play guitar with my friends."
The banker laughed and shook his head. "Look, I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you. You should start by fishing longer hours. If you did that, you would catch twice as much."
The fisherman looked up. "And then what?"
"With the extra money, you could buy a bigger boat."
"Why do I need a bigger boat?"
"Because a bigger boat lets you go into deeper waters and catch even more fish. Soon, you'd make enough to buy a second boat, and then a third. Eventually, you'd have an entire fleet of fishing vessels."
"And then what?" the fisherman asked softly.
"Then," the banker said, gesturing grandly, "you wouldn't have to sell to a middleman. You could open your own cannery and control the product, processing, and distribution. You would leave this tiny village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, and eventually New York City, where you would run your expanding enterprise from a skyscraper."
The fisherman paused. "But señor, how long will this all take?"
"15 to 20 years. Maybe 25."
"And then what?"
The banker laughed. "That's the best part. When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public. You would become very rich. You would make millions!"
"Millions," the fisherman repeated. "And then what?"
"Then you would retire. You could move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings to sip wine and play your guitar with your friends."
The fisherman looked at the banker, smiled, and asked: "Isn't that exactly what I am doing right now?