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BTW I achieved "Financial Independence, Retire Early", but didn't like it - though it was tremendous fun getting there, by creating value that I and others valu

BTW I achieved "Financial Independence, Retire Early", but didn't like it - though it was tremendous fun getting there, by creating value that I and others valued - being a good, contributing member of society felt good. (And the motivation of FIRE helped.) Plus, you don't really retire, your job is now investing. If you really love that particular job (like Buffett does), then this works out well. But if your innate talents and interests lie elsewhere, you'd be happier doing that... and the need for money can help motivate you, during those times you don't feel like it. It doesn't seem like extra motivation should be important, but is was for me personally. Maybe I'm lacking somehow, as I note that many independently wealthy people do keep working without that motivation. e.g. YC itself. (Though pg now does seem to have really retired, or maybe is a fulltime career parent - there is no more important job!) Thoughts on motivation?

toomuchtodo 6y ago
> Thoughts on motivation? Lose yourself in the service of others (Ghandi). Find a problem that speaks to your skills and curiosity, something that feeds your soul by doing. This has helped me find my path, I hope it helps you find yours.
- carapace 6y ago
  Good advice. It's strange that something so rewarding is so often overlooked. It challenges our egos, I think, eh?
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
madaxe_again 6y ago
For me, after retiring at 33, I just turned my existence into an adventure playground. For me, getting there was very little fun - I accidentally built a successful business that I ended up hating like a prison sentence, so getting out was a huge relief. I live off grid in the middle of nowhere, and I am busy and engaged, all day, every day, doing and learning. I’ve become an infrastructure engineer, a construction engineer and labourer, a farmer, an arboriculturist, and at night I’m an astronomer, an author, and an automation coder. Right now I’m putting together a multi-stage solar and hydro dump heating setup. All sorts of interesting challenges, and I’m experimenting with welding and (safely) testing large pressure vessels, which is a first for me. Am I contributing to society? Not really - but I’m not taking anything from it either, other than passive income. My portfolio just sits there and grows for my dotage, the rental properties provide an income, and I do a tiny bit of tech consulting, both paid and pro bono, because it’s fun. So, motivation? Do something you enjoy. That’s pretty much all there is to it. I like screwing around with matter and information and learning and making things, so I do that.
- amiga_500 6y ago
  > Am I contributing to society? Not really - but I’m not taking anything from it either, other than passive income. My portfolio just sits there and grows for my dotage, the __rental properties__ provide an income, You are taking from society through rentier activity ---- Reply to the dollar guy below as hacker news soft censors anti landlord replies This is so, so wrong. Perhaps you are a java dev? Stop attempting to lump wealth creators in with rentiers via inheritance.
  - codewithcheese 6y ago
    They are providing capital for others to use and contribute to society. Plus I'm sure doing all that stuff they will have a chance to teach someone else or provide feedback online.
    - amiga_500 6y ago
      The land already exists. The land gets the rent. Just playing a rigged system as a rentier, as defined by Adam Smith. https://www.prosper.org.au/geoists-in-history/adam-smith-on-the-rentier/ https://www.prosper.org.au/geoists-in-history/adam-smith-on-... “Ground rents are a species of revenue which the owner, in many cases, enjoys without any care or attention of his own. Ground rents are, therefore, perhaps a species of revenue which best bear to have a particular tax imposed upon them.” “As soon as the land of any country has all become private property, the landlords, like all other men, love to reap where they never sowed and demand a rent even for its natural produce.” --- my reply to the above as hacker news censors all rentier debate with their fake "you're submitting too fast", which they only do for anti landlord comments: Wrong. The majority of the rent is ground rent. Try renting a facsimile of an apartment in the middle of nowhere and in a city. Did he create the value? No.
      - Spivak 6y ago
        The parent doesn’t seem like they’re renting land though. It seem like they are renting houses which doesn’t suffer from the problems of ground rent because there’s actual service being provided.
toast0 6y ago
> Plus, you don't really retire, your job is now investing. This can be as easy or lazy as you like. Don't want to do anything? Get a target date/balanced fund and eat the slightly larger expense ratio and realised income. Ok with rebalancing maybe once a year or so? Put X% into a stock index fund, Y% into a bond index fund, reinvestment on and look on your birthday/whatever day once a year to see if you need to rebalance. You can of course spend more time, but if you don't like it, you don't have to.
- hyperpallium 6y ago
  True, but it's not zero work, and you must retain sufficient investing expertise to interpret and respond wisely. Maybe "responsibility" is more apt than "job". And over decades, things change, e.g. GFC and now covid19, world wars etc. I'm not sure, does a bond index protect you? You'll at least need sufficient buffer to ride it out, perhaps several years worth. House rentals have issues too, long-term maintenance, council issues, vacancies in a depressed economy.
  - MiroF 6y ago
    > True, but it's not zero work, and you must retain sufficient investing expertise to interpret and respond wisely. Maybe "responsibility" is more apt than "job". The "expertise" you need is to buy & hold and try to avoid selling when it is low.

toomuchtodo 6y ago

> Thoughts on motivation? Lose yourself in the service of others (Ghandi). Find a problem that speaks to your skills and curiosity, something that feeds your soul by doing. This has helped me find my path, I hope it helps you find yours.

carapace 6y ago
Good advice. It's strange that something so rewarding is so often overlooked. It challenges our egos, I think, eh?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

madaxe_again 6y ago

For me, after retiring at 33, I just turned my existence into an adventure playground. For me, getting there was very little fun - I accidentally built a successful business that I ended up hating like a prison sentence, so getting out was a huge relief. I live off grid in the middle of nowhere, and I am busy and engaged, all day, every day, doing and learning. I’ve become an infrastructure engineer, a construction engineer and labourer, a farmer, an arboriculturist, and at night I’m an astronomer, an author, and an automation coder. Right now I’m putting together a multi-stage solar and hydro dump heating setup. All sorts of interesting challenges, and I’m experimenting with welding and (safely) testing large pressure vessels, which is a first for me. Am I contributing to society? Not really - but I’m not taking anything from it either, other than passive income. My portfolio just sits there and grows for my dotage, the rental properties provide an income, and I do a tiny bit of tech consulting, both paid and pro bono, because it’s fun. So, motivation? Do something you enjoy. That’s pretty much all there is to it. I like screwing around with matter and information and learning and making things, so I do that.

amiga_500 6y ago
> Am I contributing to society? Not really - but I’m not taking anything from it either, other than passive income. My portfolio just sits there and grows for my dotage, the __rental properties__ provide an income, You are taking from society through rentier activity ---- Reply to the dollar guy below as hacker news soft censors anti landlord replies This is so, so wrong. Perhaps you are a java dev? Stop attempting to lump wealth creators in with rentiers via inheritance.
- codewithcheese 6y ago
  They are providing capital for others to use and contribute to society. Plus I'm sure doing all that stuff they will have a chance to teach someone else or provide feedback online.
  - amiga_500 6y ago
    The land already exists. The land gets the rent. Just playing a rigged system as a rentier, as defined by Adam Smith. https://www.prosper.org.au/geoists-in-history/adam-smith-on-the-rentier/ https://www.prosper.org.au/geoists-in-history/adam-smith-on-... “Ground rents are a species of revenue which the owner, in many cases, enjoys without any care or attention of his own. Ground rents are, therefore, perhaps a species of revenue which best bear to have a particular tax imposed upon them.” “As soon as the land of any country has all become private property, the landlords, like all other men, love to reap where they never sowed and demand a rent even for its natural produce.” --- my reply to the above as hacker news censors all rentier debate with their fake "you're submitting too fast", which they only do for anti landlord comments: Wrong. The majority of the rent is ground rent. Try renting a facsimile of an apartment in the middle of nowhere and in a city. Did he create the value? No.
    - Spivak 6y ago
      The parent doesn’t seem like they’re renting land though. It seem like they are renting houses which doesn’t suffer from the problems of ground rent because there’s actual service being provided.

toast0 6y ago

> Plus, you don't really retire, your job is now investing. This can be as easy or lazy as you like. Don't want to do anything? Get a target date/balanced fund and eat the slightly larger expense ratio and realised income. Ok with rebalancing maybe once a year or so? Put X% into a stock index fund, Y% into a bond index fund, reinvestment on and look on your birthday/whatever day once a year to see if you need to rebalance. You can of course spend more time, but if you don't like it, you don't have to.

hyperpallium 6y ago
True, but it's not zero work, and you must retain sufficient investing expertise to interpret and respond wisely. Maybe "responsibility" is more apt than "job". And over decades, things change, e.g. GFC and now covid19, world wars etc. I'm not sure, does a bond index protect you? You'll at least need sufficient buffer to ride it out, perhaps several years worth. House rentals have issues too, long-term maintenance, council issues, vacancies in a depressed economy.
- MiroF 6y ago
  > True, but it's not zero work, and you must retain sufficient investing expertise to interpret and respond wisely. Maybe "responsibility" is more apt than "job". The "expertise" you need is to buy & hold and try to avoid selling when it is low.