7 Life & Financial Lessons from Sachin Tendulkar’s Farewell Speech

The “Die Hard” and “Expandable” fans could not hide their tears when the Master was thanking from the center of the Wankhede Stadium, after his last performance. To surprise all he was with a paper with pointers so that he does not forget anyone. If you noticed he started with his late father and went on to thank till the fans who yelled Sachin…Sachin, in such a brilliant order covering his parents to family, in-laws, friends, gurus, people on the field, off the field that one can never debate if he missed anyone. The perfectionist, the finisher and the legend may not return to field again but even in his last speech he taught us a few lessons.

Let me try to put forward a few lessons from Farewell Speech:

1. Retirement is inevitable

  • He said “My life, between 22 yards for 24 years, it is hard to believe that that wonderful journey has come to an end”
  • Message for you “Retirement is inevitable – gymnasts retire at the age of 18, athlete at the age of 25, other sportsman at 35, and you may be at the age of 55 or 60. Only politicians never retire so they don’t have to worry about money after retirement. But you are not that lucky, you should always remember that you have to save & invest enough for your golden years.”

2. Do not find shortcuts

  • He said “My father gave me freedom at the age of 11, and told me that [I should] chase my dreams, but make sure you do not find shortcuts. The path might be difficult but don’t give up…”
  • Message for you “There are no shorts cuts to success; you have to really work hard to achieve your dreams. Avoid “get rich quick” schemes, whenever you think about short cuts in investments, think of Snakes & Ladders game.”

3. Coach can play important role

  • He said “And it all started from the age of 11 when Ajit (brother) took me to Archrekar sir, my coach, and from there on my life changed. Sir has never ever said ‘well played’ to me because he thought I would get complacent and I would stop working hard.” He also thanked other coaches.
  • Message for you “Why ‘God of Cricket’ need a coach? He was talented and luck in his favour when injuries occurred but why an advisor? Coach/Advisor is someone who can give advice based on his experience, keep your head cool & can take decisions without emotional impact.”

4. Behind every successful man, there is a woman

  • He Said “Anjali (wife) took the initiative to step back and say that ‘you continue with your cricket and I will take the responsibility of the family’. Without that, I don’t think I would have been able to play cricket freely and without stress.”
  • Message for you “If your spouse is homemaker that doesn’t mean she is not contributing to your financial success. She is… & she needs big appreciation for that. Even if she is not interested in managing finances, make sure she participates in setting goals & her goals should get higher priority than your personal goals.”

5. Have balance in your life

  • He Said “Time has flown by. I wanted to spend so much time with them (kids) on special occasions like their birthdays, their annual days, their sports day, going on holidays, whatever. I have missed out on all those things.”
  • Message for you “This is Regret. Before starting financial planning process for our clients, we conduct couple of Life Planning exercises. And one thing that is common in every case is – they are not able to give quality time to family. Time is flying…. ”

6. Being healthy

  • He said “I would be failing in my duties if I did not thank all the doctors, the physios, the trainers, who have put this difficult body together to go back on the field and be able to play. So a big thank you to all three of you for keeping me in good shape.”
  • Message for you “Managing stress free life is not just making good investments and buying mediclaim & term insurance. You have to keep yourself abreast on daily basis. Keeping a healthy diet, exercises, managing stress-free work life, regular medical checkups are few things which one must follow. Life it not a 100 mts race where you put your best in the first 25 mts. It is a marathon with lot of laps and you need to keep replenishing yourself to see yourself a winner.”

7. Bigger Purpose

  • He said “I had a brief message for the team. I would like to repeat that. I just feel that all of us are so, so fortunate and proud to be part of the Indian cricket team and serving the nation.
  • Message for you “Try and figure out the–bigger picture and make the best of what you have. Feel and appreciate what you are part of. In finance your family well-being can be your salvation, so try to achieve it without accumulating tensions. This will not only ensure success but give you the all elusive satisfaction which we all seek, albeit unconsciously. And once you achieve your goals – try to do something for society.”

Apart from the final thanks-giving speech, one thing which Sachin has repeated again and again in his interviews is that having idols in life is important but our own individuality needs to be nurtured. He was a great fan of Gavaskar and Viv Richards. But he does not mirror any of them. He had the stability of Gavaskar and attack of Richards. He came to cricket when new forms of the game like one days and T-20 were flourishing. He adapted to those styles and in fact introduced few shots which millions of fans would remember forever. Sachin gives us the motivation and focus for sure, but ultimately we also need to use our own judgments when the moment arises. So weather its choosing an investment or a job we need to access our strengths, opportunities and situation and then do what is best suited for us.

Well Done Sachin… We will miss you…

26 COMMENTS

  1. Brilliant piece hemant and as i told you that i was also writing on the same lines but as always you came first. Just to add 8th financial lesson here which originated from sachin’s gratitude towards his brother Ajit. Sachin said – Ajit my brother. We lived this dream together.he sacrificed his career for me. he took me to acrekar sir first .Even last night he called me to discuss my dismissal.Even when i am not playing we will still be discussing tecnique. If that hadn’t happened, i would have been a lesser cricketer.”
    Message for you : There has to be one guiding light along with you, with whom you can discuss your weaknesses, who can help you in working on your strengths. Who you should be accountable to for all your doings. Be it your spouse, your friend, your children. Financial planner or Coach/advisor as you pointed out can advise from outside but the real strength comes from family. Financial Planner/coach/advisor can make the plan but for proper implementation support of family is very much required.

  2. As usual,very good article Hemant sir. Lots of things to learn. Also one thing to learn from The GOD Sachin is no matter how much we earn, we should always remain humble and simple.
    Thanks a lot.
    Paritosh

  3. very nice article…thanks…
    just one point to add to your advise on retirement(see para-1).
    we should plan our retirement well in advance,
    in terms of what we are going to do, how we will pass time,
    not necessarily that we should do something to earn,
    but to keep ourselves busy is more imp for keeping us healthy
    mentally as well as physically.

  4. Brilliant and Heart stirring thanks giving note by GREAT Sachin. He promises to be a future Prime Minister Candidate or PRESIDENT or GOVERNOR of India. Keep watching him he will raise to the toast. None of our national leaders had rendered such a impact of speech to their voters who have been fostering them for many consecutive terms . Youngsters make a difference and hence its high time we need young youth politicians in indian scenario to bring a vast change. Lets pray that day is not so far.

  5. Dear Hemant,

    I appreciate the article “7 Life & Financial Lessons from Sachin Tendulkar’s Farewell Speech”.

    Sachin is God for cricket / Sprots Hero for Indians.

    Mass will always easily allign / understand and follow real life heroes.

    Thanks & Regards
    Jabal Parikh
    Vadodara
    093776 00000

  6. Wonderful comprehension Hemant… I appreciate your way of articulating the event and finance management in our life…

  7. Excellent write up and easy to understand. Fully applicable in our real life to manage financial goals. Special thanks to cricket god Sachin.
    Thanks Hemant

  8. Great post. Like the way you have cited Sachin’s farewell speech to lessons to learn in the area of personal finance.
    Another point which could be added – “start early in life” . Sachin was able to achieve so much and create so many records because he started playing early in life and hence got enough time for creating history in the field of cricket. Similarly by starting early in life with investments enables one to benefit from the power of compounding.

  9. Dear Hemant, excellent write up and the great batsman has given us the glimpses of how & why he is great…. What I would like to add is that, in a separate interview he talked about his father advising him ‘ … whatever you do or achieve always try to be a good human being first which will ensure people remember you beyond your activity’… I guess that is the best advise a father can pass on, but what is amazing that the little Master tried his level best to be so and it is evident from the remarks made by ex & current cricketers as well as others. It is an incredible achievement.

  10. Great lessons from god of cricket and greater still to learn these from an angel like you. Thanks for the social works.!

  11. Hi Hemant
    Sachin has only stopped playing cricket but he has not retired. He has invested wisely and he still has many sources of income.

  12. Meant lot to us the way he walked throughout his cricket career and there is doubt on your writing it’s marvelous.

  13. Amazing Thoughts, and the co relation reated with the each statement . This is quite realistic and evryone should follow… Cheers

  14. What a nice article. I am not a cricket fan and yet I found that this article touched a chord. I have seen Sachin’s retirement speech and felt there was a lot to learn from it. We are all growing old and thus we should plan – not just plan for retirement but also how to spend quality time with our near and dear ones since time is flying.

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