Enough, a speech by John Bogle
In 2007, John Bogle delivered a commencement speech titled “Enough” to MBA graduates at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. I love the speech and still read it from time to time. I think it perfectly encapsulates John Bogle’s mindset when he introduced low cost index funds to the investing world. In his speech, he appeals to the humility of the graduating students, but pulls no punches and eviscerates the financial services industry. Funny enough, one year later, one of the worst economic crises in history occurred, in large part thanks to a bubble created by greed and poor diligence by these same institutions.
John Bogle makes as good a case for low cost index funds as anyone, which should be no surprise - he invented them after all. The index fund is a great tool for the common person to directly invest in businesses and reap the rewards of investment, while bypassing (as much as possible) the financial system, which Bogle described as extracting value from society rather than creating it.
If you’ve read my book, or follow any kind of financial independence, retire early (FIRE) teachings, you’ll know that investing is only one part of achieving financial independence. It’s a very important part, to be sure, but the other part is frugality (in case it wasn’t obvious from the title of my blog). Live below your means, without depriving yourself. It’s far easier said than done, because it’s so hard to find the right balance. I’ve seen examples of frugality taken too far, as well as examples of extreme consumerism. Both extremes are cause for concern. What I’ve found, however, is that in the digital age dominated by social media, consumerism is often praised, admired, and celebrated, but frugality is overlooked or even criticized. It’s certainly not as sexy for the ‘gram.
If you have trouble with frugality, remember that consumerism generally does not bring more happiness. There is evidence to suggest that wealth does bring happiness, up to a certain point. Guess what? Regardless of how much money you make, spending money makes you poorer and investing it makes you wealthier. I think Bogle would agree with this fundamental premise. He opened his speech by referencing one of Kurt Vonnegut’s last poems that he wrote before he died:
Here’s how I recall the wonderful story that sets the theme for my remarks today: At a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island, the late Kurt Vonnegut informs his pal, the author 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.”
What a profoundly powerful statement. The greedy will never have enough, but the frugal already do. You can read the entire speech here. I highly recommend it.
Happy investing!
