I spoke with an older entrepreneur and private investor recently. I asked him why he’s working so hard to build wealth. He told me that he won’t stop until he has an island estate and a philanthropic foundation. His answer struck me as overly caricaturistic — like something regurgitated from a TikTok video about “generational wealth”.
But he was dead serious.
To be fair, his motivation is more about what those two things would represent — that he’d have succeeded in setting up his children with financial success, comfort, and perhaps a greater capacity to impact the world earlier in their lives than he himself had. He feels he’s ultimately working for them.
It’s been hard for me to shake this conversation from my mind, especially when juxtaposed against my own current outlook and journey.
I think a lot about gear shifting in life. Three years ago, after several hard years in “high gear” professionally, I downshifted so that I could spend more time with my kids, my wife, and focus on a bit more self care. This didn’t mean “sending it” and doing nothing. I ended up doing a lot and still do a lot — but on my own terms where “high gear” isn’t required all of the time. You’ve heard of intermittent fasting or intense interval training — it’s a bit like intermittent careerism… or interval living. Some would say this lifestyle “isn’t Lindy,” meaning it’s not proven sustainable. But that’s not necessarily a point a care enough to prove… if it’s even the point at all.
You can’t effectively navigate life in high gear all of the time unless you’ve built your entire identity around one particular thing. For a lot of people, this one thing is work or a career. In that case, sure, if your work is your life then stay full throttle.
The potential problem with this, of course, is that you’ll either blow by the exit ramps to cherishable memories and family life moments… or fly off a cliff somewhere mentally, physically, or emotionally. Some will invoke concepts of heroism or stoicism to justify relentless uninterrupted work ethic. Some internalize the “be a provider” and “bread on the table” over “be present” and “we’ll be OK” mentalities. There is no great adjudicator of what’s right or wrong.
But life is a route made up of serpentine roads which force you to downshift and long straightaways that scream “pedal to the metal”.
I think it’s best to enjoy the vistas around the curves and relish the wind during those speed sessions.
It’s as much about the ride as the destination. Or maybe the ride is the entire point.
I’d prefer that those whom I love enjoy the ride as much as I do. Then it doesn’t really matter where we’re headed.