> If you really can overachieve while working very little then all it means is that you could have achieved more in your life if you spent more time working.

I mean, not really right? That's the whole thing with the totem pole systems we create. You are only rewarded for over-achieving so much. Anything above that causes problems, because we are jealous creatures. There are daggers in mens' smiles.

I have other interests in life and don't care that much about work, which is why I understand how it works in the first place. If I didn't like philosophy and speak four languages and lived around the world, then I wouldn't know that. Most engineers don't.

If my company were willing to make me a principal and comp me with a big chunk of equity, then hell yeah. But almost no one is, and until I have kids, I don't want to start my own company or put too much effort into office politics. C'est la vie, c'est la mort.