He eventually quit that to join other actors forming their own company. For two years he wrote dramatizations of novels for them to perform. Back in Boston, Watson spent his last years doing theater, dramatic readings, and lectures on geology and the telephone. No doubt he'd played a greater role in inventing the telephone than history grants him. While others strangled on worries about priority and recognition, Watson was driven by a passionate love for doing and being.
Success can be the great destroyer of lives.
We need to be able to walk away from it. He knew that sowing is ultimately a lot more fun than reaping. Thomas Watson's life was certainly risky and uneven. But view him from the right angle, and I think you'll find that he offers us an astonishing recipe for creative fulfillment. Allen, F., Inventing a Life.