A boat was docked in a tiny Newfoundland fishing village. A tourist from Toronto complimented the Newfie fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them. ‘Not very long,’ answered the Newfie.
‘But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?’ asked the Torontonian.
The Newfie explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The Torontonian asked, ‘But what do you do with the rest of your time?’
‘I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take an afternoon nap with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs… I have a full life.’
The Torontonian interrupted, ‘I have an MBA from Queen’s University and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.’
‘And after that?’ asked the Newfie.’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 middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to St John ‘s, Halifax , or even Toronto ! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise.’
‘How long would that take?’ asked the Newfie.
‘Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,’ replied the Torontonian.
‘And after that?’
‘Afterwards? Well my Friend, That’s when it gets really interesting,’ answered the Torontonian, laughing. ‘When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!’
‘Millions? Really? And after that?’ said the Newfie.
‘After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take an
afternoon nap with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends.’ And the moral is: Know where you’re going in life… you may already be there.