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Comment by deanmoriarty | Hacker News Reader

> Worship your family, friends, love ones, health, music, doing things that make you feel alive, shared experiences and nature over shiny toys and stuff that just sits around collecting dust and looking pretty.

Agree but let’s not forget that money can give you wonderful experiences even if you are not materialistic, including the ability to not work anymore. Those are the people I am jealous of.

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> including the ability to not work anymore

I have two takes on this.

The first is: I've met people who don't work. They're some of the most boring and wasteful people I've ever met.

Lying down on a beach, or watching tv 12 hours a day (random cliches), get boring after some time.

So one's going to look for something more meaningful and committed (in best case...), which brings to the second point: anything that's going to take a consistent share of one's like, inevitably becomes "work".

Morale of the story: there is no freedom from work. But there's the option to pursue the work one likes :)

I keep saying that I can't wait to retire so that I'll have the time to work on some games I've been wanting to create.

I haven't done them now because I don't want to spend my limited leisure time working, even if it's on something I want to create.

If you are not doing it now, or making an effort to do it now, don't be surprised when the time comes and you discover that you are not spending your days as you expected.

I retired for most of my twenties and early-thirties. It was all planned, and it ended up being one of the best decisions I have ever made, but it only created opportunity. Retirement doesn't change a person's interests or their motivation. When people receive a windfall of time, they tend to spend that time doing whatever it was they did prior, only more of it. If they watched TV in their free time, now they watch more TV. You get the idea.

My unsolicited advice: do it now.

I disagree with this. I used to have passion hobbies until I became so time-poor that keeping them would mean cut the little amount of time that I spent with my family, or not being able going out of my apartment for a walk.

I am not sure what you are disagreeing with.

> there is no freedom from work. But there's the option to pursue the work one likes :)

True, "Freedom to pursue ones interests" is more accurate. Many on HN are blessed with some degree of interesting work, but 99% of the world is not and for them "Freedom to not work" is almost synonymous.

It's true people go in one of two directions though. I think this is easily revealed with a long enough holiday without plans, initially everyone does lazy mindless things (recovery), then people get bored and either go in search of ever more entertainment, or seek out ever more creative, explorative or intellectually stimulating activities. i.e making your own "work".

> The first is: I've met people who don't work. They're some of the most boring and wasteful people I've ever met.

I don't want to 'work'...doesn't mean I don't want to have the freedom to maybe 'work' if I want 60 hours per week on a side project..without worrying about paying clients.

I'm not lazy, per se. Easily distracted yes, (ADHD), but I want to build things that are important to me, and maybe others...not build things for other people anymore. If I had 500k, I'd buy land, build cheap homes, rent them out dirt cheap and work on building a worker co-op that builds software tools for unions, co-ops, etc and shared marketplaces (think like amazon/ebay) that gives money back to those who shop, sell, and work to build the platform.

Def. wouldn't go sit on a beach, have no desire to do that sort of thing. Might take the kids to Disneyland though.

Being a slum lord and writing software for unions sounds like a weird definition of an ideal life.

I’ve heard this before now. If you can find “flow” in whatever you’re doing then you’ll never actually feel like you’re working all that much. Flow can be achieved in any area so long as you meet the psychological requirements for it. Work absolutely is not a “sentence” for committing the sin of existence.

I'd like not to work as much as the next person who doesn't, but I must say, anecdotally, that I've never met someone who retired early, be it from FIRE, investing, or inheritance, who is living what I'd consider a good life. I'm not saying their experience isn't enjoyable for them (which may very well be all that matters), just that the appearance and impression they give off is one of sloth, indolence, and hedonism. They're not writing that great novel or learning to master the dulcimer; they're simply vacillating between loafing and indulging.

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