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Comment by silverquiet | Hacker News Reader

> I just dream of spending a life of slow breakfasts, hiking on Monday mornings to celebrate a new week, reading books, slow traveling, and spending more time close to my aging parents.

That sounds like a lot to retire to if you ask me. And $5.5M seems like quite a lot to me. Probably especially if you move back to your home country or almost anywhere else in the world outside Silicon Valley.

Myself, I do have some hobbies but I'd probably go nuts without the structure of having a formal job. If I were you, I'd try and find work that I actually enjoy and find meaningful; you probably don't need to worry about money so much, but if you had a job that covered your expenses, you could let the principle you've already accumulated grow.

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> If I were you, I'd try and find work that I actually enjoy and find meaningful

Thanks. That’s easier said than done.

A big reason why (but not the only one) work is so depressing is because, in every single job I had (consulting included), I ended up pretty quickly despising and being highly resentful of my managers, I just don’t like being told what to do, “being coached”, “given feedback”, “pressured”, and oh God those 1:1, I hated every single 1:1 I ever had throughout my career.

Naturally I always put up the right facade to allow me to perform, but good luck finding a job without a manager.

I realize this says more about me than my managers, but this is still the reality.

FWIW, when I’m not working or depressed about the thought of work, I’m actually a pretty happy person.

I think you should try a hand at running your own business, being your own boss. You seem to have enough money and the industry experience to take a shot at it.

I am inclined to agree with your parents/friends, you still have a lot of human capital (read: your youth) to build financial capital with today so you can have an even more fulfilling life tomorrow when you no longer have all that human capital (read: old age).

This isn't to say you shouldn't life your life now, of course. I wrote in another comment here that living today and not tomorrow is imperative[1]. But to refuse to make money during your prime money making years is also folly, because that money today will save your time tomorrow.

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41757791

It’s not folly if you have enough to manage your current and future needs. At some point doubling your wealth won’t even move the needle on fulfillment - for almost all people. The point is of course for everyone. And in the other direction deferring fulfillment later for money now absolutely is folly when done for too long, none of us know how long we have.

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