THREAD // Life is about finding fulfilling work, not saving up enough money to never work again.
When I first discovered the concept of early retirement (save up enough money in 10-15 years to never work again), I thought it was the solution to lasting happiness and bliss.
When I first discovered the concept of early retirement (save up enough money in 10-15 years to never work again), I thought it was the solution to lasting happiness and bliss.
I hated the idea of working 40 hours per week in a cube for 40 years doing work I found pointless, so stacking up enough savings to never need a cubicle job again seemed like a great idea.
But the more books, articles, podcasts, and videos I consumed by people who had actually quit the rat race at a young age, the more I noticed a trend: each of these people experienced a "void" in their life.
The same pattern kept popping up: people would achieve the financial means to quit their day job, then travel for a couple weeks or months...then get bored. Humans adapt quickly. Even constant travel and leisure becomes mundane quicker than one might think.
The solution, in nearly every case, was for these people to pursue work they found fulfilling - starting a business, an agency, a blog, a podcast, building a product, etc. that used their unique skillset to help others and ironically make more money at the same time.
Thus, the path to a good life doesn't involve quitting work entirely, but rather finding fulfilling work that you can do on YOUR terms.
The 9-5 schedule is an outdated and unnatural work schedule. Many people are actually happy to work several hours per day, but only on work they find meaningful and only on a schedule that is flexible.
Just look at anyone in their 80s or 90s who continues to work full-time like Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, or Jiro Ono - it's not about the money for them, it's about the meaningful work.
As Einstein said: "We act as though comfort and luxury are the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about"
And as Viktor Frankl said: "What humans need and want isn’t a complete release of tension and responsibility, but the pursuit of a worthwhile goal that they chose freely."
Of course, the best way to achieve this freedom to do work you enjoy on your terms is to attain some level of financial independence.
This is the path I'm currently on myself. I've managed to save about $120k over the past 2.5 years.
This is the path I'm currently on myself. I've managed to save about $120k over the past 2.5 years.
My original goal when I first started was to save $1 million and never work again. Now, my goal is to save $250k-$350k and build up my income streams outside of my day job to a point where they consistently cover my monthly expenses.
Recently, these income streams have covered 50-75% of my monthly expenses. For me, meaningful work is blogging and creating websites. Once I do quit my day job, I suspect that I'll discover more work I enjoy doing once I have freedom to experiment with different types of work.
If you're on the path to financial independence, I encourage you to start thinking about finding fulfilling work rather than attempting to hit some net worth number and never work again.
As Richard Feynman said: "Fall in love with some activity, and do it! Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn't matter. Explore the world. Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough."
