Paul Tudor Jones: Failure Chases You Onto the Right Road

A couple of years ago, über-trader Paul Tudor Jones gave a talk to high school-aged young men at the Buckley School about the importance of failure.  The entire thing is brilliant and worth a read but of particular interest to me was this bit about how how there is a very specific type of failure – the kind that is unavoidable.  His story about being literally left at the altar as a 26-year-old “knucklehead” carries with it an extremely important message: Sometimes failure is merely chasing you off of the wrong road and onto the right one.

Enjoy:

Now, there are two types of failure you will experience in life. The first type is what I just described and comes from things you can control. That is the worst kind. But there is another form of failure that will be equally devastating to you, and that is the kind beyond your control.

This happened to me in 1982. I had met a very lovely young Harvard student from Connecticut, dated her for two years then asked her to marry me right after she graduated from college. We set a date; we sent out the invitations; and all was fantastic until one month before the wedding when her father called me. He said, “Paul, my daughter sat me down this afternoon, and she doesn’t know how to tell you this, but she is really unhappy and thinks it’s time for you two to take a break.” At first I thought he was joking because he was a very funny guy. Then he said, “No, she is serious about this.”  I thought to myself, “Oh, my God, I am being dumped at the altar.”

I’m from Tennessee. Getting dumped at the altar was the supreme social embarrassment of that time. It was a big deal. When all my family and friends found out, they were ready to re-start the Civil War on the spot. I had to remind them that the last Civil War didn’t go so well for our side, and I didn’t like our chances in a rematch.

The reality was that I was a 26-year old knucklehead, and since all my friends were getting married, I kind of felt it was time for me to do the same thing. And that was the worst reason in the world to get married. I actually think she understood that and to a certain extent spared me what would have been a very tough marriage. Instead, I’ve had an incredible marriage for twenty years to a wonderful wife, and we have four kids that I love more than anything on Earth. Some things happen to you that at the time will make you feel like the world is coming to an end, but in actuality, there is a very good reason for it. You just can’t see it and don’t know it. When one door closes, another will open, but standing in that hallway can be hell. You just have to persevere.

Quite often that dragon of failure is really chasing you off the wrong road and on to the right one.

Pretty important concept, guys.

Source:

PERFECT FAILURE
COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS TO GRADUATING CLASS OF
THE BUCKLEY SCHOOL
June 10, 2009

(Scribd)

This content, which contains security-related opinions and/or information, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in any manner as professional advice, or an endorsement of any practices, products or services. There can be no guarantees or assurances that the views expressed here will be applicable for any particular facts or circumstances, and should not be relied upon in any manner. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment.

The commentary in this “post” (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of the Ritholtz Wealth Management employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded the views of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. or its respective affiliates or as a description of advisory services provided by Ritholtz Wealth Management or performance returns of any Ritholtz Wealth Management Investments client.

References to any securities or digital assets, or performance data, are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.

Wealthcast Media, an affiliate of Ritholtz Wealth Management, receives payment from various entities for advertisements in affiliated podcasts, blogs and emails. Inclusion of such advertisements does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Content Creator or by Ritholtz Wealth Management or any of its employees. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. For additional advertisement disclaimers see here: https://www.ritholtzwealth.com/advertising-disclaimers

Please see disclosures here.

What's been said:

Discussions found on the web
  1. immediate edge review 2020 commented on Sep 22

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/03/22/paul-tudor-jones-failure-chases-you-onto-the-right-road/ […]

  2. classic facebook commented on Sep 25

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Info here on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/03/22/paul-tudor-jones-failure-chases-you-onto-the-right-road/ […]

  3. edm 2021 commented on Oct 12

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/03/22/paul-tudor-jones-failure-chases-you-onto-the-right-road/ […]

  4. Dank Carts commented on Oct 13

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you will find 7793 more Information to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/03/22/paul-tudor-jones-failure-chases-you-onto-the-right-road/ […]

  5. sell dumps online commented on Nov 16

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you will find 26977 more Info on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/03/22/paul-tudor-jones-failure-chases-you-onto-the-right-road/ […]

  6. bmo online sign in commented on Dec 03

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you can find 34051 more Information to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/03/22/paul-tudor-jones-failure-chases-you-onto-the-right-road/ […]

  7. great cvv dumps commented on Dec 09

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Info here to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/03/22/paul-tudor-jones-failure-chases-you-onto-the-right-road/ […]

  8. pokerqq commented on Dec 18

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/03/22/paul-tudor-jones-failure-chases-you-onto-the-right-road/ […]

  9. regression testing commented on Dec 20

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you will find 17138 additional Information on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/03/22/paul-tudor-jones-failure-chases-you-onto-the-right-road/ […]

  10. tangerine online banking login commented on Jan 14

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you can find 33582 more Information on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/03/22/paul-tudor-jones-failure-chases-you-onto-the-right-road/ […]

  11. Brother MFC-9840CDW manuals commented on Jan 22

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/03/22/paul-tudor-jones-failure-chases-you-onto-the-right-road/ […]