Full Circle1

兜圈子

The American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.2 Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna3. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, only a little while. The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?
The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. 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 amigos;4 I have a full and busy life.?

The American scoffed5, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds6, buy a bigger boat, with the profits 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 cannery7. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA8 and eventually NYC9 where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take."

To which the American replied,"15-20 years."

"But what then?"

The American laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right you would announce an IPO10 and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions!"

"Millions... Then what?"

The American said, "Then 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 amigos."

1. full circle: 绕圈子。
2. 当一个渔夫驾着他的小渔船进港的时候，一位美国投资银行家正等候在这个墨西哥海边小渔村的码头上。
pier/pi2(r)/: 码头；
dock: （船）靠码头；进港。
3. yellow fin tuna: 一种金枪鱼的名称；fin: 鳍，鱼翅。
4. siesta/si#est2/: （热带和亚热带西班牙语国家的）午睡；stroll: 散步，溜达；amigo/2#mi:g2%/: 朋友。
5. scoff: 嘲笑，讥笑。
6. proceeds/#pr2usi:dz/: 收入，收益。
7. cannery: 罐头食品厂。
8. LA: Los Angeles，洛杉矶市。
9. NYC: New York City，纽约市。
8. IPO: 是英文Initial Public Offering（首次公开发行股票）的缩写，也有人翻译为“新股发行”。