Father’s Day Advice from Jack Bogle

Art Carey of the Phildelphia Inquirer shares some great quotes from a past interview with the late Jack Bogle, in which Bogle shared the advice he would give his own son: Vanguard’s John Bogle gives tips for life on Father’s Day. The advice is inspiring and has very little to do with investing in particular. The entire interview is worth reading if you can, but here are some partial excerpts:

[…] First, don’t forget your family, because in the end, that’s all you really have. Next, be a decent human being, and don’t think you’re better than anybody else, no matter what your condition of wealth or importance.

Never let things — the material possessions you may come to accumulate — become the measure of your life. It is an easy trap to fall into during these days of such material abundance in America, or at least in the privileged part of America that we see — with grander homes, bigger stores, more powerful cars, smarter phones, more exotic rock concerts, more sophisticated toys for children, and more elaborate toys for grown-ups, a cornucopia of things almost beyond measure.

And never forget the important role of luck in your life. Never, never, never, never say, ‘I did it all myself.’ Nobody does it all themselves. And when somebody has the temerity to tell me they did, I say to them: ‘That’s wonderful. I’m not sure I’ve ever met anybody who did it all themselves, but could I ask you one question: How did you arrange to be born in the United States of America?’

Above all, never give up your idealism. No matter how dark things get, keep your eye on the brighter side of things. Never let your determination falter. Even when the world turns against you and ridicules your ideas, ‘Press on, regardless.’ […] You don’t say, ‘I’ve arrived, I’m here.’ You say, ‘I’ll try to do a little better tomorrow, and all the tomorrows after that.’