Yes, I made enough money to not work, from a software startup, at age 28. Of course this is wonderful. Does it automatically = happiness? No.
When I was a kid, my grandfather told me he "would rather be poor than be rich" and meant it literally. He was a Christian missionary overseas for 10 years. He was sure God would provide; therefore he had no worries about lack of money. And, turned out he was right: in his retirement he had a comfortable (small) house in a nice little town, etc. He had done something with his life that was important to him, and raised a nice, ethical family too.
At the time, I thought my grandfather was being stupid: if you didn't like being rich, you could just give everything away, right? But he was talking about how you can get trapped by your money and/or corrupted by the pursuit of it. These are real dangers. (You can screw up your kids with too much money, too. I would honestly rather be poor, than be rich, the money having screwed up my kids. But, then it would be too late!)
If you can make a decent living & do something you find rewarding, you're winning. To do something I hate (for more than a limited time), or screw up my kids, just to drive a Tesla? (I actually drive a Tesla.) Not worth it.
I initially did not work & traveled for 2 years; eventually got boring. Now I am doing another startup. I love (much of) it. It's challenging for sure, and maybe you get to "make a dent in the universe". This is a special time in history for people with hacking talent.
When I was a kid, my grandfather told me he "would rather be poor than be rich" and meant it literally. He was a Christian missionary overseas for 10 years. He was sure God would provide; therefore he had no worries about lack of money. And, turned out he was right: in his retirement he had a comfortable (small) house in a nice little town, etc. He had done something with his life that was important to him, and raised a nice, ethical family too.
At the time, I thought my grandfather was being stupid: if you didn't like being rich, you could just give everything away, right? But he was talking about how you can get trapped by your money and/or corrupted by the pursuit of it. These are real dangers. (You can screw up your kids with too much money, too. I would honestly rather be poor, than be rich, the money having screwed up my kids. But, then it would be too late!)
If you can make a decent living & do something you find rewarding, you're winning. To do something I hate (for more than a limited time), or screw up my kids, just to drive a Tesla? (I actually drive a Tesla.) Not worth it.
I initially did not work & traveled for 2 years; eventually got boring. Now I am doing another startup. I love (much of) it. It's challenging for sure, and maybe you get to "make a dent in the universe". This is a special time in history for people with hacking talent.