I leave you with the story of the American tourist and the Mexican fisherman. Although originally a short story by the German writer Heinrich Böll, this anecdote often gets retold with different protagonists in different settings.

Here’s the version that I know:

An American businessman stood at the pier of a picturesque coastal Mexican village when a small boat docked. The lone fisherman stepped out with his catch for the day, several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish.

‘How long did it take you to catch them?’ asked the American tourist.

‘Only a short while’, replied the fisherman.

‘Why not stay out and catch more?’ asked the American.

‘I have enough to support my family’s needs’, said the fisherman.

‘But what will you do with the rest of your time?’

‘I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife. In the evening, I stroll into the village, sip wine and sing songs with my friends.’

The American scoffed. ‘I have a Harvard MBA and work as a management consultant for McKinsey. I can help you.’

‘How, señor?’ said the fisherman, taken aback.

‘Spend more time fishing. With the proceeds, you can buy a bigger boat, and with the catch from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would have the power to sell directly to the customer, eventually opening your own canning factory. You would control the product, the processing and the distribution. You could leave this small coastal village, and move to Mexico City. After that, Los Angeles and then eventually New York where you would run your expanding enterprise.’

‘How long would that take?’ asked the fisherman.

‘Oh, fifteen, maybe twenty years.’

‘And after that?’

‘Ah, now this is where it gets really interesting’, replied the management consultant with the MBA from Harvard.

‘When the time is right, you announce an initial public offering, and sell the company’s shares to the public. You would be rich, make millions.’

‘Millions, señor? Then what?’

‘You retire! You can move to a beautiful coastal village where you would sleep late, catch a little fish, play with your children, take a siesta, then in the evening you could stroll into the village and enjoy drinks and songs with your friends.’

~ Heaven’s Bankers by Harris Irfan