A businessman took a vacation to a small Greek coastal village. Unable to sleep one evening he walked along the pier where he came across a small boat that had docked for the night. Inside the boat were a fisherman with several large tunas.

“How long did it take you to catch those fish?” the businessman asked.

“Only a little while,” the fisherman replied.

“Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” inquired the businessman.

“I have enough to support my family and give a few to friends,” the fisherman said as he unloaded the tuna.

“But …. what do you do with the rest of your time?” asked the businessman curiously.

The fisherman looked up and smiled. He said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take naps with my wife, and stroll into the village where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends.”

The businessman laughed, “Sir, I have an MBA and can help you. You should fish more, and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. In no time you could have several boats with a larger haul of fish. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Then, instead of selling your catch to the middleman, you could sell directly to the consumers. You could control the product, processing, and distribution. You could leave this small coastal village and move to the city to run your expanding empire.”

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

“15- 20 years, 25 tops,” said the businessman.

“But what then?” asked the fisherman.

The businessman laughed again 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 could make millions.”

“Millions? Then what?” asked the fisherman.

The businessman replied, “Then you could retire and move to a small coastal fishing village, where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take naps with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with your friends.”

-Author Unknown

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