- Money Buff by Sam Fargo
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- An Endless Pursuit of More
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49-0.
That was the record that boxer Rocky Marciano said goodbye with in 1956. It baffled many. He was nowhere close to slowing down, his victories were more dominant than ever. Rocky could have kept winning and earning millions as the king of his sport.
But he had enough.
“I am retiring because of my wife and baby." He said. "No man can say what he will do in the future, but barring poverty, the ring has seen the last of me. I am comfortably fixed, and I am not afraid of the future.”
This kind of self-awareness is rare. Athletes are often driven by a "one more" mentality, a desire for one more dollar, one more victory, one more accolade. Rocky Marciano walked away on his own terms.
Fast forward to today and we see a similar scenario playing out in the world of golf. Top players are being enticed with exorbitant amounts of money to play for a new league run by a country with a terrible record on human rights. Why?
The seduction of more money and more success is too great for some to resist. It all comes down to their definition of enough. Phil Mickelson is one of the most celebrated golfers in history and makes nearly $50 million a year from his winnings and endorsements. Sounds pretty great, but that wasn't enough. The money was too good for him and he joined.
Then there's Rory McIlroy, who explained his disinterest in leaving the PGA Tour for the Saudi-backed tour:
"Look, I’ve lived it...all that money really isn’t going to change their life. I’m in a way better financial position than I was a decade ago and my life is no different. I still use the same three, four rooms in my house. I just don’t see the value in tarnishing a reputation for extra millions."
The concept of "enough" is not limited to sports, it touches every aspect of our lives. Psychologists have known for decades that people adjust to good things in their lives, ending up about as happy as they originally were. It’s called the hedonic treadmill and it's powered by adaptation: good things feel good at first, then they feel less good until they feel normal.
Our ancestors dreamed of flying around the world, talking to people a thousand miles away, and having modern medicine. We live in a world where all of that has become a reality, yet it doesn’t feel like some amazing, futuristic place. It feels...fine.
We humans have an almost limitless capacity to adjust to our circumstances; the hedonic treadmill does not have a maximum speed.
We are always reaching for more, for bigger, for better. You’ve undoubtedly seen this dynamic play out: We buy that fancy car, ride around smiling with the music blasting, and then see someone in the newer model and start thinking about that instead.
As we collect and consume more things, our expectations rise in tandem. We see this phenomenon at play in gaming. Many think that the immersiveness of virtual reality enables a better gaming experience with friends. But the truth is, that experience has never changed. Hanging out with friends and playing video games is already fun, and has not gotten more fun despite advancements in technology.
Friends playing Atari in the 1980s had just as much fun as those playing VR in 2023. Because when you’re hanging out with friends, it doesn’t matter what you do: sit on the beach, or drink beer, or watch your favorite team get blown out—it’s all good times.
If more made people happier, we wouldn't have historically high levels of depression and loneliness. But if there’s potential to reach higher, somebody will try.
No concept of "enough" is recklessness disguised as ambition. If more is never enough for your career, your personal life has no choice but to suffer. The only thing stopping some from reaching for more is when they are forced to. It is not until you are burned out and distanced from loved ones that you realize the dangers of never having enough. An insatiable desire for more can push us to the brink of ruin.
The default pull of the world is more: more money, more partners, more status. More everything. The hedonic treadmill is always moving, and if you don’t know what you truly want, you’ll never step off. It's better to leave the ring while you're still standing.
John Bogle began his book with the following words:
At a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island, Kurt Vonnegut informs his pal, Joseph Heller, that their host, a hedge fund manager, had made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from his wildly popular novel Catch-22 over its whole history. Heller responds, “Yes, but I have something he will never have…enough.”
-Sam
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