That tends to happen as you age. Values and priorities shift drastically as you get older and, presumably, take on more responsibilities (children, wife, etc.).

That tends to happen as you age. Values and priorities shift drastically as you get older and, presumably, take on more responsibilities (children, wife, etc.). This is played out pretty heavily in politics. Young people tend to be more liberal and grow more conservative as time goes on with the possibility of again moving back towards the liberal side of things at the end when responsibilities start to dissipate (children grow up, social security kicks in, etc.). I think the key is to take risks when you have the ability to (i.e. when you're young). It doesn't mean you can't grow rich later in life, but I have a feeling that the longer you put off taking on the "big" responsibility, the higher the probability you will be to succeed in a financial sense. If your idea of "successful" is to have a spouse and offspring, by all means, pursue that as early as possible. If it's to be financially well off, you'd be better off pursuing that instead of a family.