At a pier on Toledo Bend Reservoir in Hemphill a vacationing businessman was admiring a catch of several huge channel cats in a small commercial fishing boat with just one fisherman aboard. He asked the fisherman how long it took to realize the impressive haul.
The fisherman replied, "Only a little while."
"Why don't you stay out longer and catch even more fish?"
"I have enough for my family's immediate needs."
The businessman then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
The fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with
my children, take a nap, and go into town each evening where I
have some beer and play dominos with my cohorts."
The high-powered man of commerce scoffed, "You should spend more time fishing, and with the extra proceeds buy more boats. Eventually you would have a fleet and instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery."
He then added, "You would need to leave Hemphill and move to Dallas where you would run your expanding enterprise."
The fisherman asked, "How long will this all take?"
"15-20 years."
"But what then?"
"That's the best part. When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich -- you would make millions."
"Millions? Then what?"
The businessman said, "Why, then you could retire and move to a home near a lake where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your children, take a nap, and go into town each evening to have some beer and play dominos with your cohorts."
