Revel in the Race

Oscar Wilde, the 19^th century Irish author, famously said, “With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone.” What a terrible thing that would be.

One of the aspects I enjoy most about my job is the ability to talk to a vast array of people, many of whom have lived and worked and accumulated for six, seven, or eight decades. I cherish these conversations. In fact, I maintain a running list of the wisdom I’ve picked up over the years from clients.

Fortunately, from what I can see, age usually doesn’t come alone.

I’ve learned a lot from clients. And these pearls of knowledge I glean fall under the general category of “things I wish I knew earlier.”

Let me tell you about two pieces of wisdom that I’ve heard numerous times and in various forms.

If you talk to wealthy individuals – those who are set for life and could set up their children for life, too – they typically have several things in common. They worked hard. They took chances. They got a bit of luck from time to time. Most were hungry and wanted to improve their lot in life.

But now, decades later, having accumulated more money than they ever thought possible, there is a common refrain you hear. They look back at the hard times, the struggles and tribulations, and think, “Those were the good old days.”

They didn’t know it at the time – and almost certainly didn’t think it back then – but with the benefit of hindsight, having made it, they cherish those memories.

Believe it or not, having wealth isn’t nearly as interesting as making it.

So their first piece of advice tends to be a version of “enjoy the ride.” It’s the thrill of the hunt they remember and reflect fondly upon, not their current net worth.

The second piece of advice flows from a similar vein. As wealth is building, there is no magic bell that rings once you’ve accumulated “enough.” There always feels like more you can or should do. But at some point, you must make a judgement call to jump off the financial treadmill – or at least slow it down considerably.

There will always be someone with more wealth. You can’t get enough of something you don’t need. So eventually you must decide to stop running.

In short, their second piece of advice is to find satisfaction.

That point is reached sooner by some and later by others, for a variety of reasons. Some say they love what they do so much that they never want to stop. That’s great.

But some continue running the rat race for less-than-ideal reasons. They do it because someone else has more; because they’re fearful they don’t have enough; because they want to leave more to their children; because they have no other hobbies or interests. Because…because…because.

What they are desperately searching for is satisfaction, to know when enough is enough.

But that feeling can be elusive.

I recently read a quote attributed to Solon, who was born in Athens in 630 BC. Writing more than 2,600 years ago, Solon observed, “Of wealth, there is no limit that appears to man; for those of us who have the most wealth are eager to double it.”

It makes me wonder if Solon was ever graced with the wisdom to know when it’s enough as he aged. If so, he would have learned the same lessons my clients have taught me.

Revel in the race. Find satisfaction. Because you’ll never find the finish line.