In my 20s, I used to think like that because that's what I was told by everyone around me. Now I find this idea infuriating. I'm almost 30 now and I've been wo

In my 20s, I used to think like that because that's what I was told by everyone around me. Now I find this idea infuriating. I'm almost 30 now and I've been working insanely hard since before I left school and during university; I've been working at least 70 hours per week for 12 years (40 hours on my startup or corporate contracting day job, 30 hours on a side project). I've had some minor successes but still no big break - I'm not far from where I left off financially. One of the many companies I worked for is doing relatively well and I'm hopeful that my small stake will be worth enough to buy a modest house/apartment someday but it's still a big gamble at this stage; the shares could still become worthless... Even if everything goes perfectly well, it's still not enough for me to retire. I feel that I got very lucky with that one. I can clearly see how it's possible to get to 50 years old working nonstop like a freak and making all the right decisions and still not make it financially. I've been quite strategic about my career so far. I worked for startups which had relatively low valuations, proven tech, value-creating areas, fast growth, good investors, smart founders, were just starting to onboard big clients and sign big contracts. I also worked for a few hyped SV startups too (I worked for a SV-based Y Combinator company for over a year). Even among the 12 or so software companies that I worked at and left, none of them had successful exits yet or grew sufficiently that it would have allowed me to make enough money to retire (even if I could pick the best one and assume that I had been able to negotiate a good equity package). Only one startup I worked at is doing relatively well and that's also the one which I stayed at the longest and have the most equity in. I feel that people who got a big break before they turned 30 missed out on learning about reality.