The Ultimate Goal

Sometimes it's good to remind ourselves that the ultimate goals in life are simple

by Mara Wile

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The fisherman replied, "only a little while."

"Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" The American asked.

The fisherman 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?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, seņor," replied the fisherman.

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. Then, with the proceeds you earn 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, and eventually open your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York City where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But seņor, how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied, "15-20 years."

"But what then, seņor?"

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!"

"What then Seņor?" asked the fisherman.

The American smiled at his own genius, "Then you could finally retire and move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."