An investment banker was on the pier of a small coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. His boat was full of beautiful yellow tuna. The banker complimented the
fisherman on his fish, asking how long it took to catch them. The fisherman replied "Only a short time."
The banker asked why not stay out and catch more. The fisherman replied, "I've enough fish to feed my family."
The banker then asked what did the fisherman do with the rest of his time, and he replied, "I will sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, stroll into the village each evening, sip wine with my
friends, play my guitar, ... I have a full and busy life."
The banker was not impressed. "I have a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat and from those increased proceeds you could buy several boats and soon have a fleet. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you could control production, processing and distribution by building your own cannery. You could leave this small coastal village
and move to the city then to New York where you could run
your expanding enterprise."
The fisherman asked, "How long will this take?" The banker said, "Ten to twenty years. Then you would announce an IPO and sell your stock to the public, making millions and millions."
"But what then?"
"Ah, now you get to the best part", said the banker smiling. "You could retire to a small coastal village where you could sleep
late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings, sip wine and play your guitar with your friends."