The Parable of Taganga

I read this in a local free paper today, shared by Dr. Gifford Jones as an intro to a column on work stress. He'd found it in the weekly newsletter of a financial review, Daily Reckoning. It resonated with me as I am hoping to uproot again this year, and live in another part of the world, rather than just work, work, working to pay for short vacations there.

Dear Daily Reckoning Reader,

One day, an American investment adviser visited the small fishing village of Taganga, Colombia, in the country's Magdalena department. As he walked along the pier, a Colombian fisherman, just in from the catch, was tying his small boat to the dock.

Inside was a basket filled with four glistening tilapia.

The American, impressed with the quality of the catch, tipped his hat to the Colombian and asked, "How long does it take to catch each of those?"

The Colombian answered, "Not too long."

The American then asked why he stopped at four fish. "It's early afternoon… why not keep fishing?"

The Colombian replied the four fish were enough for his family's needs.

"So," the American then asked, "what do you do the rest of the day?"

The villager answered, "I sleep in, then come here to fish. After, I play futbol with my children and have a siesta with mi esposa, Lucia. Then I walk north to the Playa Grande, where I recline, sip aguardiente and sing with mis amigos. I live a rewarding life."

The American laughed, "I'm an MBA… and a financial adviser. You should fish for longer, then buy a bigger boat with the proceeds. Then, with the proceeds you make from the bigger boat, you could buy a few more boats. After a while, you'll have your own fleet.

"After that, you could cut out the middleman and sell straight to the distributor. Soon after, you could start your own company and own the product, processing and distribution.

"We can start soon. I'd say you'd have to leave Taganga and move to Bogota. Then we could move you to North America… where we'd make our way to New York City. That's where you'll run your tilapia empire."

Amazed, the Colombian asked, "But... how many years will this take?"

To which the man replied, "A decade or two."

"And what happens after that?" pressed the Colombian.

The American started rubbing his hands together. "That's the best part. You would announce an initial public offering… and from that you'd become filthy rich."

"Filthy rich… " thought the Colombian out loud. "And then what would I do?"

Well, the American said, "I guess you'd retire. You could move to a quaint fishing village on the coast. You could sleep late... play futbol with your kids, take naps with your wife and spend your nights relaxing on the beach, drinking and singing with friends."

A moment to reflect...

Enjoy your Sunday,

Peter Coyne
Editor, the Daily Reckoning

source: An Ignoble Experiment