>Shouldn't you rather continue working to make sure that if such a destiny awaits you, you have enough money to at least buy yourself some comfort?

Until when? How much is "enough"? Life is uncertain. Take Michael J. Fox, for instance.

I mean, this is the plan for a ton of people who go to California, particularly in the software world: "I'll work really hard for <major company> and put away a lot of money, then I'll move to a small place and work on what I really want to do, and live happily ever after."

How many people actually achieve this? It's harder than you think.