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Ask HN: 27, accidentally became wealthy, lost drive. What should I do?

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Re: Ask HN: 27, accidentally became wealthy, lost drive. What should I do?

#61
post #26

Give me your money. Then I’ll be rich and you’ll get your drive back. It’s win/win.

Pay no attention to this guy. Give me half your money, and I'll show you the excellent parts of the world. Plus, I know something about investing and inventing, so I'll give you a bunch of advice, like "don't give all your money away at once" (my favorite).

Re: Ask HN: 27, accidentally became wealthy, lost drive. What should I do?

#62
More likely than not, you have in your mind (or heart, wherever you feel it) small notions of things you might like to try: ideas to explore, creative visions, or ideas of the kind of person you'd like to be or the people you'd like to be around, or skills you wish you possessed (which may be far out of your comfort zone, e.g., learning the violin, social dancing), or problems in the world you'd like to focus on solving.

In my opinion, a state like yours is characterized by not being in the habit of pursuing these inklings of vision; instead, you have lived accordingly to some superseding feeling, like a need to be wealthy or prove yourself as a member of a social class. Not being in the habit of amplifying your whims into genuine curiosity or a vision for life, you suppress them, or they bend back on themselves and turn into pangs of bitterness.

Thus a prescription for you to try: when you feel an impulse like these, take it into your attention gently and nurture it, focus on it even if it doesn't seem like an answer to the question of "what is the most important thing to be doing right now", or "who am I" or "what do I care about"; on its own no little curiosity will answer these, but by building the habit of nurturing these things you will begin to know yourself and learn how to live in a way that is well-aligned rather than self-contradictory, and thus, your desire to act on the world will thrive and govern your actions (what is missing now). And the answers to those bigger questions will become apparent.

Re: Ask HN: 27, accidentally became wealthy, lost drive. What should I do?

#63
> In early November I sold everything and after taxes I now own 7.5 million euro

You are not out of the woods yet, I understand that for an individual this sum is massive, but for a bank it might not be (Deutche Bank, UBS, perhaps Credit Suisse?). Just naming some names which are popular in CH/DE.

Anyways they might still ask you about it, upon review of your position at the end of the year.

Not sure if this is a welcome news because it would give you something to do or unwelcome because it's a process to deal with. Still be on the lookout for them to ask questions.

Re: Ask HN: 27, accidentally became wealthy, lost drive. What should I do?

#64
re: finances. Stick 79% into index funds, 10% in bonds/bank deposits and 1% in cash . Donate a little to buskers et al, things that make you feel good.

Then forget about it. You don't have to _do_ anything with it. Don't go down the "I should do something with my money" rabbit-hole. You can do that much later if you want. I'm not wealthy, but know people who are, and while they pay people to manage it pretty much comes out to that formula. Plus gold.

Then, complete your studies.

Then, you have the existential crisis that we all have, so don't think you're alone in this. Or that you have to solve it in the next few years.

"What should I do with my life?". I.e., what is important to you? A hard question!

Read books. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a good place to start.

Read hacker news etc to find out interesting things that are going on.

Plan a budget trip (eg: bikepacking, hiking etc).

Don't buy expensive shit.

etc. All this is simply a way of saying that you need to make 30/40/50/60/90/100+ year old you proud. So do those things. And don't do those things that would make those guys ashamed.

Re: Ask HN: 27, accidentally became wealthy, lost drive. What should I do?

#67
I recommend the following forum: forum.earlyretirementextreme.com. There's plenty of people there who got freedom from work (through accumulating sufficient funds), but were (or are) struggling to figure out what to do with that freedom, esp. since they still have most of their live ahead of them.

Re: Ask HN: 27, accidentally became wealthy, lost drive. What should I do?

#68
post #20

This is normal. You will get used to it, and you will likely bounce to your personality before the windfall. You have solved one problem in life that most people never solve, and that puts you in a very small group. However, the rest of the problems are still there. The need to work for money can no longer distract you from them. You still need human connection and purpose. You still will age, have to worry about you…

I was going to make a similar comment. Basically don't do anything for a few years to get used to the money, although I might rent for a while before I buy unless I really knew I wanted to live in that place. It's a good time to figure out what you want to do in terms of investing, and more importantly why you want to invest that way. You don't necessarily have to do anything with your money or your life. Your instinct not to talk about the money to anyone is correct. You might consider working part time for any friends or close colleagues you have who could use your help. I find helping people I care about is a good source of motivation for me. Good Luck!

Re: Ask HN: 27, accidentally became wealthy, lost drive. What should I do?

#70
I am not sure if I agree with all the advice here. I think the first thing you should do is celebrate. Take a month and spend it on a tropical beach, or whatever your dream location may be. If you like company, bring along some friends and pay for them. The point is to tell yourself, this is my month to relax, enjoy, and get used to things. No need to think about what to do next, just have fun.

Then, when the month is over, you will get back to figuring out what you want to do. You have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to options. I am sure you will find something great!

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