For roughly 25 years of his career, Howard Marks made major life and career decisions unconsciously and without intention—drifting based on luck and circumstance rather than deliberate reasoning—and he now regrets not living with intention until around age 50; his advice is to consciously find work that plays to your strengths, avoids your weaknesses, and makes you happy, rather than letting friends, parents, or society decide.
Marks admits he drifted unintentionally through the first 25 years of his career—ending up in bonds and moving to California largely by chance—and urges young people to deliberately choose paths that fit their own strengths and happiness instead of following others. ✦ AI generated
Howard Marks · My First Million · 2026-07-15 · original ↗
starts at this moment · 30:53
“Did you do any exercises to become that way?”
Not that I recall. I think part of it, you know, and I said, I said for the next 25 years I didn't do it. That took me up to roughly 95, which is when I left with Bruce to start Oaktree.
verbatim transcript · starts at 30:53
30:5325 years I didn't do it. That took me up to roughly 95, which is when I left with Bruce to start Oaktree. That was really >> That's so interesting. So you think that up until the age of 50 or 49 you were floating or living according to other people. >> Well, not not just that, but just not making good decisions, conscious decisions. You know, why did I go to Citybank
31:21Investment Research Department when I got out of University of Chicago in 1969? Because I had a a good summer there the year before. Why did I move from the equity research department to the bond department? Because my work in equity research was unsuccessful and I was told to get out. Why did I move to California in 1980? Sunshine. Palm trees. I just can't claim that I was making good decisions. I got
31:54sent to the bond department at Citybank in 1978. And 3 months later the head of the bond department calls me up. Since I was I didn't have that much to do. I was fairly idle. And he says there's a guy named Milken or something in California and he deals in something called high-yield bonds. Do you think you can figure out what that means? That was just luck.
32:17You know, if you if you read Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers, it was just luck. Right time, right place. And if that call if that call came at lunchtime and I had been out at lunch, maybe somebody else would get the call. And and they'd be me. >> Your uh your humility is very striking to me. We have a lot of people on this podcast that I I think, you know, claim
32:41to be humble or try to be humble. You You really are extremely humble person. I mean, one note I wrote down is from now on at the top of all my investor memos, I'm just going to start it with I could be wrong, but um because I I I think whenever I make an investment, I'm so boastful about the my my excitement and my exuberance and why this is right
- ·Marks drifted unintentionally through his first 25 career years
- ·Landed in bonds and moved to California largely by chance
- ·Didn't live with intention until around age 50
- ·Regrets not choosing his path more deliberately
- ·Consciously choose work that fits your strengths
- ·Pick paths that avoid your weaknesses
- ·Prioritize what actually makes you happy
- ·Don't let friends, parents, or society decide for you