I
heard this story recently, and it’s a great way to start this discussion:
An
American businessman stood at the pier of a small coastal village in Mexico,
when a small boat carrying a lone Mexican fisherman docked. Inside the small
boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican
on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The
fisherman replied, “Only a little while.”
The
American then asked, “If it took only a little while to catch these fine fish,
why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?” The fisherman explained that
this catch was enough to support his family's immediate needs.
The
American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The
fisherman replied, “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, señor.”
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. With the proceeds 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, eventually opening 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 L.A., and eventually New
York City, where you would run your expanding enterprise.”
The
fisherman asked, “But señor, how long will this all take?”
The
American replied, “Fifteen to twenty years.”
“But
what then, señor?” inquired the Mexican. 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.”
“Millions,
señor? Then what?” asked the Mexican.
The
American said, “Why, then you would retire, of course—move to a small coastal
fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids,
take a siesta with your wife, and stroll into the village in the evenings,
where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
It’s funny
how many Americans/Canadians/Europeans retire to the various expat communities
in Mexico to relax and take life a little slower; however, then get frustrated
with the “laid back” culture when things are moving too slow or not as quickly
as we think they should. It’s an ongoing
joke here that “mañana” does not really mean tomorrow, because (in reality)
mañana never comes. What our Mexican
friends really mean by saying mañana is they will get to it, sometime. As long as you know that up front, you should
not have any other expectations!
Hmmm…….seems
to me our Mexican friends have it right to start with, best to embrace this
concept than fight it I say!
Adios for
now, it’s Siesta time…J
