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I assume this because that is how I started my stock market career in 2003, by reading One Up, and starting to believe that not only was investing easy, but also that I could be a master at it.
How wrong was I! But that’s a story for another day.
Coming back to Lynch, in case you didn’t know, he was the manager of the Magellan Fund at Fidelity Investments between 1977 and 1990, and averaged a 29% annual return, consistently more than double the S&P 500 stock market index. During his 13-year tenure, Magellan became the best-performing mutual fund in the world, and its assets under management increased from US$18 million to $14 billion. In all, it was a fairytale story for Lynch and his investors.
But then something happened.
Lynch, at what most people would call the “peak” of his career, retired from work, at age 46. He just walked away.
And what was the reason?
As he talked about openly in an interview after his retirement, his workaholism was taking a toll on his family life, and so he decided to walk away.
Lynch found thousands of people supporting him in his decision to quit his career early. But I am sure there would have been an equal number of others questioning him for his ‘unsmart’ decision.
The pursuit of success and recognition is, after all, a universal aspiration. We yearn for the validation of our efforts, the affirmation of our abilities, and the rewards that come with achieving our goals.
However, as Lynch and many like him have shown, there are times when walking away from the ‘brightness’ and into the ‘shadows,’ becomes the most profound choice one can make.
William Green, whom I interviewed for the 21st episode of The One Percent Show, has this passage in his wonderful book Richer, Wiser, Happier –
Early in his career, Bill Miller (another legendary investor) asked Lynch for advice. Lynch told him that the investment business is so rewarding financially and intellectually that it attracts an overabundance of intelligent people. “The only way you can beat them is to outwork them,” said Lynch, “because nobody is just so much smarter than the next person.” Lynch told Miller that he stayed ahead of the pack by reading investment research while he carpooled to the office at 6:30 a.m., working after dinner and on weekends, and taking no vacations for years. When Miller asked if it was possible to slow down as you got older, Lynch replied, “No. In this business, there are only two gears: overdrive and stop.”
In 1990, months before he announced his early retirement, Lynch said this to reporters from Financial World –
I’ve worked every Saturday for seven or eight years – I mean seven in the morning. In the last six months I’ve started working some Sunday mornings at home. … I haven’t gone to a Celtics game in five years. … You think I enjoy coming in here on Saturday mornings? Don’t you think I’d rather be playing with my kids or doing something with my wife?
“I loved what I was doing,” he told Time magazine in 1991, “but I came to a conclusion … What the hell are we doing this for? I don’t know anyone who wished on his deathbed that he had spent more time at the office.”
Now, I am sure a voice from within you must be saying, “Oh, it is easy to walk away from success and recognition once you have already made it, and have enough money to take care of yourself and your family for the rest of life.”
Your observation is indeed valid. It’s true that having financial security can provide the freedom and flexibility to make choices that might not have been possible otherwise.
However, the wisdom of walking away from success and recognition, and most of all you have worked so hard to achieve, is not solely dependent on financial stability. It is also about realizing that material wealth and external validation, while important, do not always equate to a truly fulfilling and well-rounded life.
Even those who have achieved financial success often come to the realization that there are other, equally important aspects of life, such as personal well-being, family, and personal fulfillment, that need attention and nurturing.
Recognizing when to walk away from the constant pursuit of success and recognition, even when you have the means to sustain your lifestyle – like Lynch – is a reflection of a deeper understanding of what truly matters in life.
It is not just about having the means to do so, but also about choosing a life that is in harmony with your authentic self, regardless of your financial status.
And, by the way, ‘walking away’ is not always about a complete exit from the larger game you are playing.
Like, you can walk away from an investment opportunity that you believe may cost you sleepless nights – maybe, an expensive stock, or a questionable business – and still remain in the investing game.
Or you can walk away from a business deal that does not match up to your levels of integrity, and still remain in that business.
It’s all about the choices we make in life, that determine the paths our lives will take. And then, it’s all about standing with those choices if we continue to believe in them, instead of worrying about what the outcomes may be.
Walking away is not a surrender or a resignation but a conscious choice to reevaluate one’s priorities and regain the balance between ambition and the intrinsic values of love, health, and inner peace.
It is an acknowledgment that the pursuit of external markers of success should never eclipse the fundamental facets of our existence – our bonds with family, our physical and mental health, and our overall well-being.
And the best part? When you learn to walk away from things you think may kill you – financially, mentally, otherwise – you also survive to play the long-term game, in investing or in life. And survival, as we understand, is the only path to true success and happiness.
What else are you here for?
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