The American Dream

The American Dream

An American businessman was standing at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked him how long it took for him to catch them. The Mexican replied that it was only a little while and didn't take long at all.

The American asked him why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish. The Mexican replied that he had enough fish there to support the needs of his family.The American then asked him what he did with the rest of his time. The Mexican told him that he slept late, fished a little, played with his children, took a siesta with his wife strolled around his village each evening where he sipped wine and played guitar with his friends. "I have a full and busy life," he told the American.  

The American scoffed and said "Well I have a Harvard MBA and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with your proceeds you could buy a bigger boat, and then with the proceeds from that you could buy an even bigger boat. Then with the proceeds from that you could buy several fishing boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. You could sell your catch directly to the consumers instead of a middleman and then eventually you could open up your own factory. You could control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican asked him how long would that take to which the American replied " 15- 20 years."

"But what do I do then?" asked the Mexican. 

The American laughed and said "That's the best part. You can sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions."

"What then?" asked the Mexican.

The American said very slowly "Then you would retire and move to a small coastal fishing village. You could sleep late, fish a little, play with your children, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings, where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your friends..........."