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Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Sometimes it's not about the money.

This story is a favorite of mine. I'm actually using it in another one of my blogs, but thought I should place it here as well:

The American businessman was at the pier of a small South Pacific Island village when an island fisherman docked his small outrigger canoe. The fisherman had a dorado and several large grouper in the canoe. The American complimented the Islander on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Islander replied, "Only a little while." The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Islander 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 fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a late afternoon nap with my wife, Helia, stroll into the village each evening where I sip rum and play guitar with my friends, 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 fishing village and move to Australia, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The South Seas 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, really? Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a late afternoon nap with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip rum and play your guitar with your friends."

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