I feel the same way, but to play devil's advocate - the vast majority of startups do fail, and leave you with no meaningful legacy. You could grow as a person,

I feel the same way, but to play devil's advocate - the vast majority of startups do fail, and leave you with no meaningful legacy. You could grow as a person, you could be very passionate and driven, etc. - but you could also end up quite depressed when things die down (speaking from experience sadly). I still think startups are awesome, but if you view work as a transaction, having a good corporate job can be a better transaction for many folks, especially if work is only a part of your life, not the defining feature. Time with your children when they are young is often the easiest to explain, but same goes for time with parents/grandparents, time to work on passion projects, etc.