finding meaningful exits rather than glorious ones

Of the several quests, we the people, undertake, as heroes, as successful individuals and mere mortals is to identify that one point of departure. WE refer to these points as hanging up of boots (retirement), we call it exit clause (investment) and as common folk we call it the end. As most human ideologies exist, the point of contradiction is built into this burning desire to discontinue and pursue an alternate set of activities that could deliver other forms of rewards.  While this is a topic of pulling out, we invest considerable thought in timing this exit to a perfection, the utopian point, of course is to pull out at your peak, so that the world remembers you as some sort of a legend. A player announcing his retirement whilst people have gathered to celebrate his recent accolades, booking profits and exiting while your investments have just peaked after a long hiatus ... the focus is towards getting to that point where the audience is busy visualizing a future and the hero feels that he is best suited elsewhere.

Inherent in this act is the sense of fear (die as a hero or live long enough to see yourself becoming the villain - TDK). Is this the kind fear that achievers live with or this the dilemma that humans confront on a daily basis. The  answers probably lie in the way we visualize success. Imagine a celebratory gathering of highly aware minds, dressed up in their finest blacks, accompanied by trophy partners, holding the finest liquids in highly transparent glasses, whispering laughter and the reason for all of this historical occasion is to celebrate the achiever. How many times do we set up stardom to bring it down to earth...

Can we exist and exit without this outrageous sense of celebration - do we need to blunt this double edged sword of attention. Do we need to attribute meaning to achievement rather than a sense of event.