This is totally not at the same scale, but still applicable. Coming from am immigrant family, jumping from 20k a year to 150k @ the age of 20 felt to me like i had made it. I traded in my civic for a sports car, bought a house, all the whisky a young man could want etc etc. Did i feel content? At first. Happier? At first. Then the realisation that there will always be someone wealthier dawned apon me. Those people work longer, harder, have more pressure, responsibility and usually dont even have the time to enjoy their wealth. Managing wealth? You do stupid shit like getting into more debt to try and "save money from the tax man".

The more money u earn, the more money u spend, the more stress u have.

I quite my job 8 years later, sold everything and travelled the world for 2 years, trying lifestyles i never imagined. In the far reaches of the amazonian rainforst where i vonunteered to help study the pink dolphins, I saw the poorest people were actually the happiest people. They had "nothing", but everything at the same time. Everywhere i went this was true. All my ailments that followed me while i was in civialisation suddenly dissapeared. Did they suffer from depression? nup. Poverty? from the outside we assume this was a bad word, but at the ground level, nup. If u live in a place that provides u with everything u need natually, u dont need money.

That was just 1 experience of many. Everyday was saturday and i had a purpose - looking for the meaning of life. I found it everywhere i looked, and money was never part of the equation.

So now im back; i love coding. Im already living the dream. I dont choose work based on pay, i choose it based on my moral compass. What did i discover? Well i think the meaning of life is a little different for everybody, but at our core, its love, connections, and experiences. No matter how much money you have, you cant buy the above.

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