megacorp-firee
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2007
- Messages
- 1,305
I copied this off of the MSN forum. I was not sure where to post this, but I thought that it is an entertaining and an educational piece. It might be something to keep in mind as the younger (and older) FIRE forum participants 'go for the golden ring'.
I think one of the morals to this story is: Know why you are doing this.
>A boat docked in a tiny Greek village. An American
> tourist complimented the Greek fisherman on the quality of his fish
> and asked how long it took him to catch them.
>
> "Not very long," answered the Greek.
>
> "But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the
> American.
>
> The Greek explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his
> needs and those of his family.
>
> The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
>
> "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta
> with my wife. In the evenings I go into the village to see my friends,
> dance a little, play the bouzouki, and sing a few songs. I have a full
> life".
>
> The American interrupted, "I have a MBA from Harvard and I can help
> you. You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the
> extra fish you catch. With the revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With
> the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one
> and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.
> Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can negotiate directly
> with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can
> then leave this little village and move to Athens, Los Angeles or even
> New York City! >From there you can direct your huge enterprise."
>
> "How long would that take?" asked the Greek.
>
> "Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.
>
> "And after that?"
>
> "Afterwards? That's when it gets really interesting," answered the
> American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start
> selling stocks and make millions!"
>
> "Millions? Really? And after that?"
>
> "After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the
> coast, sleep late, play with your grandchildren, catch a few fish, take
> a siesta with your wife, and spend your evenings singing, dancing and
> playing the bouzouki with your friends".
>
> There ends this lesson in philosophy.
I think one of the morals to this story is: Know why you are doing this.
>A boat docked in a tiny Greek village. An American
> tourist complimented the Greek fisherman on the quality of his fish
> and asked how long it took him to catch them.
>
> "Not very long," answered the Greek.
>
> "But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the
> American.
>
> The Greek explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his
> needs and those of his family.
>
> The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
>
> "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta
> with my wife. In the evenings I go into the village to see my friends,
> dance a little, play the bouzouki, and sing a few songs. I have a full
> life".
>
> The American interrupted, "I have a MBA from Harvard and I can help
> you. You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the
> extra fish you catch. With the revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With
> the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one
> and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.
> Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can negotiate directly
> with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can
> then leave this little village and move to Athens, Los Angeles or even
> New York City! >From there you can direct your huge enterprise."
>
> "How long would that take?" asked the Greek.
>
> "Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.
>
> "And after that?"
>
> "Afterwards? That's when it gets really interesting," answered the
> American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start
> selling stocks and make millions!"
>
> "Millions? Really? And after that?"
>
> "After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the
> coast, sleep late, play with your grandchildren, catch a few fish, take
> a siesta with your wife, and spend your evenings singing, dancing and
> playing the bouzouki with your friends".
>
> There ends this lesson in philosophy.