I never had a traditional education and I work with a lot of CS grads and people with great educations. Personally when I was college age I just wasn't a good student, I didn't appreciate it and I wanted to work.
Recently I went back to school for a class as part of a career change and I loved it. The idea that someone was there every day to provide me knowledge was exciting and filled me with energy. I went to school, then head home and care for the family, and when everyone was asleep hit the books and it was the most fun I had in a long time... maybe decades.
I had the same college experience. Graduated in 2001 with a 2.8 but was deeply passionate about my first startup job while working as a senior.
After two decades in the startup world and a couple of exits, I realized the value of "enough." Broke free from the golden handcuffs and decided to teach at my alma mater.
With my work experience, the university allowed me to teach without a Masters. I'm currently enrolled in a Masters program and loving it. I now treat school with the same care and interest I treated work. Plus I get to enjoy more time with my 2-year old daughter.
Caring for a child during the day (unless I'm teaching) leaves me only her sleeping hours to lesson plan and to attend to my grad school workload. Surprisingly, I've never been so exhausted in my life, and yet, I feel much more fulfilled.
I taught for the past 3 semesters on a volunteer, unpaid basis. This proved to me I would do this work for free. I start full-time as a clinical professor in the fall.
My plan was always to dedicate myself full time to the arts once I don't have to worry about putting food on the table.
I don't need nice cars, yachts, mansions or expensive friends. I want to be able to rent in a reasonably pleasant place, and then have the rest of my life to pursue what keeps me interested. Maybe I'll find that terribly dull and will need the rush of putting all the chips in every single day, but probably now. I know people who can't wait to start company #n+1 as soon as they exit, but that's never resonated with me.
Maybe my ambitions are embarrassingly timid, but being able to buy myself full access to my one non-renewable resource seems like a fantastic outcome.
This is really the secret to life as far as I'm concerned, the idea of getting to a decent steady living state which doesn't take too much of your time and energy to maintain. You can combine it with the principle of geoarbitrage and get there faster than most people realize. Once you reach that point you can optimize your time however you prefer, whether it's health, creative pursuits, further income growth or anything else. It's a powerful place to be.
This right here. Except for me arts would be entertainment art. Indie gamedev without the worry of commercial success, making films, fun art projects for the sake of it
> I don't need nice cars, yachts, mansions or expensive friends. I want to be able to rent in a reasonably pleasant place, and then have the rest of my life to pursue what keeps me interested.
That's what I always wanted. Enough that I never did anything long enough to get hugely wealthy from it. But hey, I still get to spend the rest of my life playing. I'm not sure that I'd recommend it as a career choice, but it's been interesting.
> I'm wondering why so many people go back to the "rat race" (as a commenter wrote earlier) despite this seems to make so much sense.
Because, in general [1], people that would retire after making "Fuck You money" are not driven enough to make FU money. Or, put another way, people that are hugely successful enjoy (or need in some way) the rat race.
[1] The "in general" is very important in this sentence. Of course there are some people to which this doesn't apply, either because they got lucky (e.g., by being an early employee of a billion dollar startup), or because their success and the necessary work "cured" their drive and ambition.
Start another farm but this time not have to worry about losing the land because I couldn't afford to keep it?
My cell phone would live on my dining room table as much as possible, my laptop would only be opened once per day; it takes all kinds but I couldn't imagine making "fuck you money" and choosing to stay in the rat race.
For those who have experienced their first big startup success, what did you end up doing next? Are you satisfied with the decision? Is your life better or worse than before the exit?
Honestly didn't do much else. Easy to find subpar ideas but lack the hunger to execute.
Fast forward a decade and are kids, wife, unhappy marriage (with no fault divorce so you can transfer most of the wealth over) and you really wish you just had a "normal life". You know, where going to work each day is necessary and thus defensible and rewarding.
Quite honestly I spend a lot of time thinking about departing life. People thinking startup success is the end game are kidding thenselves in my anecdotal experience.
Are you sure you aren't thinking of "Noble House"? That's the one that takes place in the sixties. In it, Casey Tcholok tells her boss she's looking for "drop dead" money, which is once also referred to as "screw you" money.
Tai-pan is the original story of Dirk struan in the 1800's, and I didn't think the concept came up there at all.
I have a fair number of friends in this boat. Most find their way back to the startup game in some form (investor, startup studio, etc). They just can't stay away. I find below myself entering a similar phase (raising money at a late enough stage that there is $10m of secondary on the table or going with a strategic and selling the whole thing) and the fear of complete freedom is a little bit terrifying tbh.
I would love to travel full time. Around the world by cruise ship, flying some places but I think long trips would be much more comfortable at sea since you can get up and walk around, plenty of entertainment and food unlike an airplane being stuffed into a tube for 8 or 12 hours! Well if you are rich enough, screw flying commercial and could buy a private jet!
Then become a full-time RVer and visit all 49 states you can drive to in an RV. There are a few nomad friendly domicile states South Dakota, Texas, and Florida that let people get their driver license and registration using a mail forwarder without having to own any property. Plus would force you to into minimalism, being organized and not having a cluttered place since less space to work with.
I remember when I was a little kid we used to go on family road trips, but haven't been anywhere really in like the last 7 years other than a short 3 day trip to the smokies which I enjoyed but wish was longer. Just something about being away from home and seeing different places just excites me for some reason. So I think to get rich from a startup or building up enough passive income to be a nomad I'd be probably the happiest ever. So much to explore and do around the world!
It makes me sad knowing that many people can't afford to travel, too busy working. Some people haven't even seen their own city or state fully really outside of their small city. I was reading in the US people get an average 10 days a year of vacation and many end up using them for other things. Apparently, after working 25 years at the same company you only get an extra 5 more. Then only about 36% of Americans even have a passport, however if you are limited to how much vacations plenty of touristy areas to visit in the US much closer, and probably less stress since the same language and culture too.
I was watching a travel vlog where someone went to China to visit the great wall and it seems like even getting a Taxi and other daily tasks is a challenge due to the language barrier, however there's stuff like Google translate that might help... Then you also have to put your political and religious views aside too.
However there's world cruises that spend like half a year sailing but costs as much as a new car per person. So maybe more organized travel but doubt most people could afford it both money and time wise but sounds like a fun dream! I seen one has a excursions to the great wall, so don't have to worry about getting a taxi and stuff. In some of the ports of call they dock overnight too. I seen one that circumnavigates the globe as a world cruise package, but costly and then probably some places need Visas and stuff but would be a once in a lifetime adventure! Then I'm a picky eater, so probably familiar food back on the ship so you don't have to starve. Take a short flight to Miami and come back half a year later seeing a bunch of the world without flying or packing and unpacking over and over as going from hotel to hotel. Hopefully someday as a huge dream of mine.
I got the reference, but it's not clear why Matt Cutts is relevant for this conversation. He made tons of money at Google, I don't know what he did next (besides his stint working for the government at some point). Can you elaborate?
I'm sorry, but I am utterly at a loss as to how to respond to this.
If someone said to you, "I don't understand why Albert Einstein is held in such high regard. He won a Nobel prize for his work on the photoelectric effect. I don't know what he did next (besides discover relativity at some point). Can you elaborate?" how would you respond?
I never had a traditional education and I work with a lot of CS grads and people with great educations. Personally when I was college age I just wasn't a good student, I didn't appreciate it and I wanted to work.
Recently I went back to school for a class as part of a career change and I loved it. The idea that someone was there every day to provide me knowledge was exciting and filled me with energy. I went to school, then head home and care for the family, and when everyone was asleep hit the books and it was the most fun I had in a long time... maybe decades.
I'd love to go do that again.