I found a lot I could resonate with in that post. My father was in the Air Force and retired at 40 after 20 years in the service. It seemed to me like he had a great deal, a retirement check to cover expenses and time to do what he wanted to do[1]. I wanted to do something like that as well so I resolved to retire at 40 :-). But what I was missing was the understanding of skills that would be useful while "retired."

Thinking about that only came later and so I have spent time (and money) on creating space for lots of exploratory activity. The result is a fairly complete lab where I can work on things and learn new stuff. The goal being a space that is fun and engaging to work in until I die[2]. It wasn't what I expected I would be working toward when I was a kid.

[1] I later learned that money was pretty tight during that period but as a kid I didn't have any visibility into that.

[2] EDIT: It goes without saying that the lab has a low cost to operate so it isn't a drain on my funds over time. My wife commented "You're life's work is to build a fun play room eh?" Which isn't too far from the truth :-)