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

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241–250 of 266 posts

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

#241

Look into helping others. Create a foundation for a cause you believe in. See what you could enact. You will reap rewards far greater by giving yourself to a cause. Sacrifice, not pleasure is the source of greatness, energy and happiness in life. I come from a country with a massive poverty problem, and yesterday was hearing about some great initiatives in there. It made me wonder what I am dedicating my life to (reg…

> Feel free to reach out for ideas.

That's exactly what he shouldn't do at the moment, contacting people who know he has money. Either way, 7 million is not rich. It's wealthy.

The odds are he will do some sort of charity later on. But that's at the moment he comes at ease with himself and that's his current priority.

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

#244
It's surprising to read all of the "chill out and enjoy it" comments in response to someone who is saying they have lost all motivation in life.

Get yourself a good therapist. You're worth it.

ps - All the people telling you to not tell your family and friends? They are right.

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

#245

I’m just some internet stranger who doesn’t know anything, but as a 50 year old guy, here’s my suggestion: First, focus on yourself. Eat well, spend time getting fit, meditate, see a therapist, spend time with your friends and family. Then, when you start to feel more bored than depressed, look around. The world needs you, and there are opportunities for you to make things better where your skills and money could be…

Nicely said. I share quite the same story as the OP with a few zeroes different in the final sum. I quit my job 8 months ago and basically felt the same boredom and depression feeling. But after 2 months of doing almost nothing my brain simply rested enough and returned to regular activity. Then I spend almost every day checking my wish list: - Paragliding? Yeah, did the basic training in 2 weeks. - Kite surfing? Why…

> Did the basic training and looking forward to start jumping in wingsuit next year

Nice! Thought about paragliding too, but decided I like the action of flying in a wingsuit more. Booked my first tandem skydiving jump and will start the basic training in 2022. In Germany we're only allowed wingsuit jumps when we complete 200 normal jumps, do you know if there's a jurisdiction where this requirement is lower?

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

#246
This is first time seeing anybody asking what they should do with the money. So here's what I planned to do if I got the hold of that much money. And what I believe what millionaires should do. There's a lot of people in need of money, food and other resources. - Donate money ( the most important ). There's homeless, sick people. And kids with no parents. But make sure the right ones receive it. - Give away stuff - Buy gifts for people (not too expensive) - Help family and friends achieve their goals. Even if u give them a loan. - People tell us all to invest. And they are not wrong. Keep some for future and Ur kids. But don't keep too much to urself. The world needs help.

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

#247
This is great, now you don't have to worry about money for now, but still you do require a routine which can make you feel connected to people and local culture.

I will say get a full-time developer job of small company or a junior position at some FAANG level company, make friends get involved in solving new problem you are interested in.

Other option is to go to university and get course in your hobby like literature or phd in CS, start a hobby blog without focusing on growth and do some gig jobs.

Once you find a sweet spot where you can feel yourself at home, you will figure out the future.

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

#248
7 M€ is great but at 2% a year, it is 140k€ of income. This more or less would mean a 200k€ job.

This is great, but not "I am insanely rich" great.

If I were you I would either try to find something to do that would drive me to that level (you can take risks now), or (most probably, but it's because it's me) take a job that does not pay much but they will make you happy (interaction with people, low stress, ...)

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

#249
post #96

I went through something similar 15 years ago. Your problem is effectively a spiritual problem. You need to discover exactly who you are and learn to fully love yourself in order to be fully alive again. When you know yourself, your meaning and purpose become clear. Exactly how you accomplish this is specific to you, but know that what got you here, won’t get you there. It could be meditation, psychedelics, athletics…

Spot on. I mean OP is in an absolutely savage situation. Understand the pitfalls to lots of money (drug abuse, filling void with purchases, etc)... but besides that just focus on solving problems, discovering more of the world, or helping others succeed and build on society themselves.

Not that complicated.

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

#250

7 M€ is great but at 2% a year, it is 140k€ of income. This more or less would mean a 200k€ job. This is great, but not "I am insanely rich" great. If I were you I would either try to find something to do that would drive me to that level (you can take risks now), or (most probably, but it's because it's me) take a job that does not pay much but they will make you happy (interaction with people, low stress, ...)

Yeah I think there's a level of about 1-15 mil where you're not like baller level rich but you have more than enough to explore the world and live a very very comfortable life.
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