Life by the sea

STORY - The Banker and the Fisherman

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An investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal village when a small
boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several
large yellow fin tuna.
The banker complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked
how long it took to catch them.
The fisherman replied, 'Only a little while.'
The banker then asked, 'Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?'
The fisherman said, 'With this I have more than enough to support my
family's needs.'
The banker 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, go
for walks with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip
wine and play guitar with my friends. As you can see, I have a full and busy
life.'
The banker 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 the capital city. After that, who knows, maybe you could take
on the world!'
The fisherman asked, 'But, how long will this all take?'
To which the banker replied, 'I'd say about 15 to 20 years.'
'But what then?' asked the fisherman.
The Banker 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 fisherman continued prodding.
The banker said, 'Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal
fishingvillage where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your
kids, go for romantic walks with your wife, and in the evenings you could
sip wine, play guitar and sing songs with your friends!'
To which the fisherman mused, 'Now isn't that strange? Isn't that what
I'm doing now?'