有一個美國商人坐在墨西哥海邊一個小漁村的碼頭上，看著一個墨西哥漁夫劃著一艘小船靠岸。小船上有好幾尾大黃鰭鮪魚，這個美國商人對墨西哥漁夫能抓這麼高檔的魚恭維了一番，還問要多少時間才能抓這麼多？
An American businessman sat on a jetty in a fishing village near the seaside of Mexico, watching a Mexican fisherman rowing a boat toward him. There were a few big Yellowfin Tunas in the boat, and the American businessman complimented the Mexican fisherman on catching such high-quality fishes. He then asked how long it took to catch so many fish.

墨西哥漁夫說，才一會兒功夫就抓到了。美國人再問，你為甚麼不待久一點，好多抓一些魚？
墨西哥漁夫覺得不以為然：這些魚已經足夠我一家人生活所需啦！ 
美國人又問：那麼你一天剩下那麼多時間都在幹甚麼？
The Mexican fisherman said it did not take too long to catch those fishes. The American persisted, 「Why didn』t you stay longer to catch more fishes?」
The Mexican fisherman disapproved, 「These fishes are already enough for the need of my family!」
The American pushed on: 「Then what do you do for the rest of the day?」

墨西哥漁夫解釋：我呀？我每天睡到自然醒，出海抓幾條魚，回來後跟孩子們玩一玩，再跟老婆睡個午覺，黃昏時晃到村子裡喝點小酒，跟哥兒們玩玩吉他，我的日子可過得充滿又忙碌呢！
The Mexican fisherman explained, 「Me? Every day I sleep until I wake up naturally. Then I ship out to catch a few fishes. After coming back, I play with the kids and take a nap with my wife in the afternoon. In the evening, I stroll to the village to have a few drinks and play the guitar with my buddies. My life is plentiful as well as active!」

美國人不以為然，幫他出主意，他說：我是美國哈佛大學企管碩士，我倒是可以幫你忙！你應該每天多花一些時間去抓魚，到時候你就有錢去買條大一點的船。自然你就可以抓更多魚，再買更多漁船。然後你就可以擁有一個漁船隊。到時候你就不必把魚賣給魚販子，而是直接賣給加工廠。然後你可以自己開一家罐頭工廠。如此你就可以控制整個生產、加工處理和行銷。然後你可以離開這個小漁村，搬到墨西哥城，再搬到洛杉磯，最後到紐約。在那裡經營你不斷擴充的企業。
The American thought little of this kind of life and began making proposals to the fisherman. 「I am an MBA of Harvard University in the US. I can give you a hand! You should spend more time catching fishes every day, and then you will have money to buy a bigger boat. When you catch more fishes with the bigger boat and sell them, you may even be able to organize a fleet of fishing boats. Then you can sell all your fish to the processing plants instead of the fish retailers. Next, you can open a cannery and control the whole process of producing, manufacturing, and marketing. Afterwards, you can leave this small fishing village and move to Mexico City, and then to Los Angles, and last to New York. You can run your expanding business from there.」

墨西哥漁夫問：這又花多少時間呢？ 
美國人回答：十五到二十年。 
「然後呢？」 
「How long would it take?」 the Mexican fisherman asked.
「Fifteen to twenty years,」 the American replied.
「Then what?」

美國人大笑著說：「然後你就可以在家當皇帝啦！時機一到，你就可以宣佈股票上市，把你的公司股份賣給投資大眾。到時候你就發啦！你可以幾億幾億地賺！」 
The American burst out laughing, 「Then you can just stay at home and be a king! When the opportunity arrives, you can launch your stocks and sell them to investors. That will be your day! You can make hundreds of millions!」

「然後呢？」 
「And then what?」

美國人說：「到那個時候你就可以退休啦！你可以搬到海邊的小漁村去住。每天睡到自然醒，出海隨便抓幾條魚，跟孩子們玩一玩，再跟老婆睡個午覺，黃昏時，晃到村子裡喝點小酒，跟哥兒們玩玩吉他囉！」 
The American said, 「Then you can retire! You can move to a small fishing village near the seaside. Every day you can sleep until you wake up naturally. Then you can go to the sea to catch a few fishes with ease, play with the kids and take a nap with your wife. You can stroll to the village to have a few drinks and play the guitar with your buddies in the evening! 」

墨西哥漁夫疑惑的說：「我現在不就是這樣了嗎？」 
「Am I not doing it already?」 the Mexican fisherman said in bewilderment.

你的慾望在無限擴展而你卻不自知。真正悲哀的是：你必將被這無限擴展的慾望搞得苦不堪言。 
Your desire is expanding unlimitedly, yet you are not aware of it. The real misery is that you will suffer badly from this unlimitedly expanding desire.