have seen this story some years back but didn’t get a chance to store it away. there are a few variations of this story, a minor tweak here and there but more or less the same. here’s it:
There was once an American businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Mexican village. As he sat, he saw a Mexican fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore and noticed that the fisherman has caught quite a number of big fishes that is known to be a delicacy. The American was really impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fishes?”
The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a short while.”
“Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and you could catch even more?” The businessman was astonished.
The fisherman simply does not agree. “This is enough to feed my whole family,” he says.
The businessman then asked, “So, what do you do for the rest of the day then?”
The fisherman replied, “Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fishes, then I would go back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I will take a nap with my wife, and evening comes, I will join my buddies in the village for a drink, we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night. My days are ever so complete and carefree.”
The businessman does not agree with his way of life and offered a suggestion to the fisherman.
“I am a PhD holder graduated from Harvard University, specialising in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you have to spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fishes as possible. And when you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fishes. As you go on, you will be able to afford to buy more boats, recruit more fishermen and lead a team of your own. Soon you will be able to set up your own company, your very own production plant for canned food and do direct selling to your distributors. At that time, you will have moved out of this village and to Mexico City, and then expand your operation to LA, and finally to New York City, where you can set up your HQ to manage all your other branches.”
The fisherman asks, “So, how long would that take?”
The businessman reply, “About 15 to 20 years.”
The fisherman continues, “And after that?”
The businessman laughs heartily, “After that, you can live like a king in your own house, and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, by then you will be rich, your income will be coming in by the millions!”
The fisherman asks, “And after that?”
The businessman says, “After that, you can finally retire, you can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning and catch a few fishes, then return home to play with kids, have a nice afternoon nap with your wife, and when evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!”
The fisherman was puzzled, “Isn’t that what I am doing now?”
(copied via http://bluehaert.wordpress.com/2006/05/02/story-the-businessman-and-the-fisherman/ . another version: http://www.thefastlanetomillions.com/off-topic-discussion/20416-businessman-fisherman.html)
so do you want to be the fisherman or the businessman? 忙 盲 忙！
