(MONEY Magazine) – MALCOLM WOLFF ASHEVILLE, N.C.

When Malcolm Wolff quit the corporate world 17 years ago, he says he "pulled a Joseph Campbell," adding, "I shed everything but my essence." Wolff did get rid of two condominiums, wander the mountains of North Carolina, build a house with his own hands and discover a love for sculpting. But he could afford to soul-search. Not quite 50, the former vice president at CBS Publishing's magazine division had a $50,000-a-year consulting gig and a $250,000 portfolio invested in stocks and zero-coupon bonds.

Then three years ago, Wolff shed his skin a second time: He liquidated his entire portfolio--now worth $500,000--and reinvested for income. "I was no longer interested in appreciation," he says. "I just wanted to preserve my capital." Today the 64-year-old owns only bond funds, including Vanguard Inflation-Protected Securities and Liberty Intermediate Bond, and individual corporates paying 5% to 6%, such as Fannie Mae and UPS. The interest on his portfolio supplements his growing income as an artist. In 1999, the same year he switched to a safer investing strategy, he sold his first piece of sculpture--for $3,700. So far this year he's made $54,000 from his art. A third of that is from the sale of a sculpture he placed in the lobby of a building in historic downtown Asheville, where he bought gallery space last year. He lent the sculpture in lieu of making a down payment. Now, he says with glee, "I'll have to replace it." --J.C.