I was already on that trend by noticing that I get more pleasure from my side projects than my 9-5 job. That also lead me to the FI/RE mindset.

Then two years ago, 3 people I knew died including the young son of close friends. Death used to be something for older people, now it's a clear possibility for me and my family too.

Last year I took 3 months off to travel around the world with my family (wife, 2 yo and 4 yo). Most of my older colleagues congratulated me and told me they wished they had done the same at my age (35). Friends my age were mostly concerned about work (impact on career, getting permission, etc) or convinced it's impossible to travel with young children.