Why There's No Panic to Develop

This little story has been around the net for years and nicely illustrates one more reason (aside from my Larry Flynt Story)  why I go slow on development.  Everyone should read it if they don't already know it:

An American investment banker was walking by the pier of a coastal Mexican village when a fisherman docked his small boat nearby and tossed several large yellow fin tuna onto the dock.

The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked, "How long does it take to catch them?"

The Mexican replied: "Not very long -- maybe a couple of hours, senor."

The American then asked why the fisherman didn't stay out longer and catch more fish.

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs and was happy with that.

The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends. I have a full and busy life which I enjoy very much."

The American rolled his eys and said, "I'm a Harvard MBA and could help you. Here's what you should do: Spend more time fishing. You get more money, and with that, you buy a bigger boat. Then you can catch more fish, and buy an even bigger boat. If you work hard, then soon you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor. If that works out, then you open your own cannery. At that point you would control the product, the processing and the distribution. And, you could leave this little town and move to Mexico City, or LA and or even New York City. From there you could run the whole thing by phone, Fedex and the Internet.

The Mexican fisherman thinks this over for a minute and then asks, "Interesting. How long will this all take?"

The American thought for a little bit, took out his calculator and punched in some numbers, and then announced "I think you do this in only 15-20 years."

"But what then?"

The American laughed and said, "Here's the beauty of the whole thing. When the time is right you announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You could make millions!"

The Mexican thought this over for a little longer, staring out to sea and thinking about what millions would buy. He asked, "Okay. Millions.. then what?"

The American said, "This is the best part -- you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your friends."

Clearly we all need enough to avoid living hand to mouth,  but life is truly short...  enjoy your time with family, friends and those you love.  :)

Comments

[julien]

i think i'm going to like this blog a lot. :)

[Sahar Sarid]

Makes perfect sense. The other reason I have which for me is eqaully important is to try to do things which are meaningful to society, not rush but do it well, with mt heart, with passion.
Life is short and there's opportunities for financial gain everywhere.
I ask myself: What kind of legacy am I leaving behind?

[Jordan Schwartz]

I like the story a lot Frank.
Never heard it before, so thanks for sharing.
Cheers!

[basicity]

Great story! Thanks for sharing.

[cheeqz]

I heard this story a lot growing up - glad to see someone else appreciates it as much as I have.

Between this and your ability to integrate tribbles into domain education, this may be among my Top 5 favorite blogs to read. :)

~amber

[josh/Swerve]

This story sucks if you live in Toronto.

:-)

I'm just kidding.

mainly.

I love the story. ok?

reminds of this poem/song/anthem by
Red Hot Chili Peppers

excerpt:

Im a low brow but I rock a little know how
No time for the piggies or the hoosegow
Get smart get down with the pow wow
Never been a better time than right now

Bob marley poet and a prophet
Bob marley taught how to off it
Bob marley walkin like he talk it
Goodness me cant you see Im gonna cough it

Give it away give it away give it away now
Give it away give it away give it away now

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/r/red+hot+chili+peppers/give+it+away_20114705.html

[Gordon]

Easy for you to say Frank when you have hundreds of thousands of names..us poor saps with a few hundred need to develop.... ;)

[Jamie]

sorry for the following newbie non sequitur but I have a question about the Larry Flynt piece. When you say you are using PPC instead of affiliate programs are you talking about Adsense or are you setting up your own PPC market on your sites for advertisers to bid on?

***FS*** both and either.

[Jamie]

Just read "Google's Power - The Only Thing to Fear, Is Fear Itself" it all makes a lot more sense to me now.