I read something a while back and it penetrated my brain.
It’s a story of wealth, but it’s more than that.
When I first read the story, my initial impression was distasteful. It seemed to be the story of a guy who was too rich and complaining about his lot in life.
But the more I thought about it, I realized his struggles mirror those we all have. I also realized there are 5 valuable lessons that we can learn from his experience, so I’ve included them below.
After all, let’s be honest.
If you’re reading this blog and can retire, you are wealthy from a global and historical perspective. If your net worth is $100,000, you’re richer than 90% of the people in the world (according to this report).
I’m confident that 90% of the readers of this blog are richer than 90% of the people in the world.
Say it with me, “I Am Rich.”
Turns out we have something in common with the guy in the story. Sure, he’s REALLY rich, but haven’t we built enough wealth to consider never working again? The difference is one of scale, but not of substance.
So, let’s focus on the second part of the headline…
“…And Have No Idea What To Do With My Life.”
At its core, the story begs the following question, which applies to all of us who are “rich.”
When a person has achieved material wealth, what’s next? Share on X
To learn the story behind this rich guy, and the lessons we can learn from his experience,
Read on…
I’ve never heard of Vinay Hiremath, but he’s the protagonist in today’s story. Here’s what he looks like, dated September 2024 at the US Open (source: his Instagram account).
Looks like a nice enough guy, though pretty young to be filthy rich. What’s his story?
Vinay was the Co-Founder of a tech company called Loom (“The easiest screen recorder you’ll ever use”). After an “intense 10-year journey,” he sold Loom for just under $1 Billion to Atlassian, and Vinay became a very rich man.
I learned about Vinay thanks to my friends at Apex Money, who shared his article:
“I am rich and have no idea what to do with my life.”
Stop and read it.
Vinay shared the article on his X account, where it’s had over 1 Million views and 2k comments. It’s worth taking a quick detour down the X chain…Here’s his original tweet:
I encourage you to click on the tweet and have fun reading through some of those 2.3K comments. It’s interesting to see how different folks respond. A few examples below:
From Levelsio:
Embrace having no purpose. Embrace being bored. Don’t run away from it, run into it!!! Go travel as a digital nomad. Lift heavy weights. Eat clean. Your next thing will show up but you gotta lose control and just accept the nothingness for awhile.
From Madhattr3:
Have kids if you can. Then the question will change from “what to do with my life” to “how do I help grow these tiny people into awesome adults”
From Justin Gordon:
Appreciate you sharing this Vinay and hope you figure it out. As a fallback, being of service to others always seems like a good thing and a meaningful use of time as well as doing things for their own sake
My favorite response, from HumbleFlow:
“The truth is…these are the questions everyone faces.” Humble Flow
This stuff is food for my brain. As I said in the intro, when a person has achieved material wealth, what’s next?
What Do You Want To Do With Your Life?
It’s a question we all need to answer.
5 Lessons From Vinay’s Experience
If you’ve read his article, you’ll recognize the opening below:
Note: Please read his article, I won’t be summarizing it since I know you can read, wink.
PIN IT
The opening of Vinay’s article
A few key quotes from his opening are worth highlighting:
- I find myself in the totally unrelatable position of never having to work again.
- I don’t have the same base desires driving me…
- I’m not the most optimistic about life.
- …I don’t currently have much conviction or purpose in life.
I give Vinay a lot of credit. He’s only written one blog post in his life, and it’s an amazing piece of work. It’s raw. Fully transparent, he admits his insecurities to the world. He’s brutally honest, even at the risk of being scorned by thousands on social media. I applaud this guy’s courage.
Sure, we can argue with some specifics in his article, but here is a guy searching for a purpose in life.
Aren’t we all?
5 Lessons From Vinay
As I thought about Vinay’s journey, I recognized a common thread with all of us who have experienced the transition into a life that no longer requires paid work. Here’s what I came up with, I welcome any additional lessons you discovered when you read his article (I’ll see you in the comments).
1. Money Doesn’t Bring Happiness
It’s been widely reported that money over a certain level doesn’t lead to more happiness. A famous Princetown report found $75,000 to be the threshold, though others have argued the level is higher. Regardless, no one disagrees once a certain level of wealth is achieved, additional money doesn’t increase happiness.
Vinay is experiencing that reality, as have many others in the FIRE community. Achieving financial independence does not, in and of itself, lead to happiness. It’s how we use that money that matters. In Vinay’s words:
What is the point of money if it not for freedom? What is your most scarce resource if not time? Share on X
The Lesson For Us: It’s hard to decide when to retire, but it’s important to recognize that working longer for the additional money you don’t need won’t lead to ultimate happiness. Don’t get caught in the One More Year Syndrome for more than one year.
2. None of us Are Immune to The 4 Phases of Retirement
Vinay is clearly struggling with the dreaded Phase II of The Four Phases of Retirement. That’s to be expected, given that 85% of retirees struggle with the same feelings of “Lost & Loss,” especially those who didn’t spend time considering the non-financial aspects of retirement before they quit working.
It’s easy to see how Vinay spent his time in Phase I, in his own words:
“I traveled to many beautiful places with my loving and supportive (ex) girlfriend. This 6-month stretch could be several essays on its own, but the outcome of this period is that nothing seemed right.”
And…the last part of that sentence highlights the reality that he’s now struggling with as he enters Phase II, “nothing seemed right.”
The Lesson For Us: Recognize the risk of falling into the dreaded Phase II, and study the lessons from the 15% of people who were fortunate to skip right over it. Bottom line: While you’re still working, spend time thinking about and planning for the non-financial aspects of life after paid work.
3. Experimentation Is the Path To Success
The good news for Vinay is that he’s already taking the steps indicative of entering Phase III: Trial & Error. His journey is fascinating, with several “experiments” described in his article:
- 2 weeks exploring a robotics company
- A month working with Elon Musk at DOGE
- A trip to Hawaii to study physics
His experiments are fascinating to read. It’s been proven that experimentation is the right path to finding your Purpose in life, and he’s doing it well. A few comments from his journey are worth highlighting:
Robotics: “At the end of the 2 weeks, I left feeling deflated and foolish. I didn’t want to start a robotics company.”
DOGE / Elon Musk: Vinay was hired to work with Elon Musk at DOGE and worked with “some of the smartest people I’ve ever met,” then quit after 4 weeks because I needed to get back to ambiguity, focus on my insecurities, and be ok with that for a while. DOGE wasn’t going to fix that.
Hawaii / Physics: He traveled to Hawaii to study physics to “build up my first principles foundation so I can start a company that manufactures real world things. It seems plausible, but I’m learning to just accept that I am happy learning physics. That’s the goal in and of itself. If it leads to nothing, that’s ok.”
The Lesson For Us: If you find yourself stuck in Phase II, the proven path forward is to start experimenting. Find something that interests you and take that first step. Take on the attitude demonstrated by Vinay’s words, “If it leads to nothing, that’s ok.” Recognize that the important thing is to throw things against the wall. If it doesn’t stick, that’s ok. In time, you’ll find something that resonates. A piece of advice I’d give to Vinay (and you) is to look externally vs. internally as you experiment. Find a need in your community and think about how you can make a difference. I was encouraged by Justin’s advice in the tweet above: “being of service to others always seems like a good thing and a meaningful use of time…” The theme was repeated in Humble Flow’s comment, “If you don’t know what your mission is, start by helping people.”
4. Finding Your North Star
I’ve done a lot of research on the topic of achieving a successful retirement (I even wrote a book about it), and a consistent theme is the importance of finding a passion that aligns with the things that matter to you. Vinay calls it “feeling authentic,” and that’s a great way to describe it. Many of us recall times in our working years when we were pressured to do things that weren’t aligned with our core beliefs. That uncomfortable feeling of having to fire someone who you cared for. The irritation of having to deliver a message to a customer that you weren’t comfortable with.
That stops in retirement.
You now have a golden opportunity to do the things, and only the things, that matter to you. The things that you believe in. In my case, I love writing, so I write. My wife and I love dogs, so we build free fences through the charity my wife founded, Freedom For Fido. We’re helping others by doing the things we love and believe in, and it’s rewarding beyond words. We’ve achieved Phase 4 in the retirement journey, and we’re loving life.
Vinay also recognizes the need for humility as you seek your path, as demonstrated by the following quote: I’m applying a healthy dose of humility to everything I say and do. It’s the only thing that feels authentic.
He may be young, but he appears wise for his age. Finally, I applaud his determination, as illustrated by the final sentence of his article:
I don’t know. But I’m going to find out.
The Lesson For Us: As you work through the experimentation of Phase 3, focus on areas that align with your inner being. Focus on finding a way to help others. Say “no” to the things that don’t feel right. “Finding your North Star” is a nebulous concept, but you know when something “feels right.” Focus your efforts in those areas.
It’s there where you’ll find the seeds for your journey.
5. Spirituality Matters
As I read Vinay’s article, I couldn’t help but think that there is a spiritual element to his journey. Perhaps he doesn’t even realize it, but it seems clear from the following comment that Vinay has recognized his need to free himself from the earthly things that entangle us:
This whole chapter of Loom has created a complex web of internalized insecurities I must now work hard to disentangle and free myself from.
As a Christian, I believe we’re intentionally designed with a “God-shaped hole” in our hearts, and it’s only in filling that hole that we find true contentment and joy. An analogy I used in 20 Ways To Be Happier In Life (one of my most-read posts, ever) is that of a wheel, where each spoke in the wheel represents a different aspect of your life. Spirituality is a spoke in your wheel, and if you don’t invest in that spoke your wheel won’t roll well. It’s clear that Vinay was too focused on his “work spoke” during his tenure building Loom, as demonstrated by the following quote:
“When you work on something that consumes your life for a decade, it’s hard to let go of the certainty and purpose you’ve grown accustomed to.”
His journey to the Redwoods and scaling of (impressive) peaks in the Himalayas are indicative of his search for greater things. I consider them investments in his “Spiritual Spoke” and hope he includes thoughts of eternity and the things that really matter as he continues his journey.
The Lesson For Us: Spirituality is often considered a “third rail” in our society, and not discussed as openly as it should be. If you’re offended by my including it in this list of lessons, perhaps it’s because it’s hitting close to home. All I ask is that you be brutally honest with yourself, and invest some time in your “Spiritual Spoke.” As long as you’ve taken the time to think about it, I’ll never judge. That’s not my place, and I recognize that. I think it’s important that I’m transparent with my beliefs, and I hope I’ve developed enough trust that you’ll allow me to do that. You do you, and I’ll do me. That said, if you’re struggling to find true joy and contentment in your life, I encourage you to read The Five Types of Wealth, with a focus on #5.
To find true contentment, invest in your Spiritual Spoke.
Conclusion
“I Am Rich.”
As unlikely as it seems, that’s a statement that all of us can make when viewed from a global perspective. We may not be as rich as Vinay, but the difference is one of scale, not substance. Recognizing that fact begs the following questions:
- What should we focus on after we’ve earned material wealth?
- What should we do with our life?
- In short, “What’s Next?”
The most important things I took away from Vinay’s story are the following 5 lessons that apply to us all:
5 Lessons From Vinay:
- Money Doesn’t Bring Happiness
- None of us Are Immune to The Four Phases of Retirement
- Experimentation is The Path To Success
- Finding Your North Star
- Spirituality Matters
By applying the lessons from Vinay’s journey, I’m hopeful we’ll all find our answer to the question…
…What’s Next?
Your Turn: What lessons most resonated with you from Vinay’s story? What lessons did I miss? Is he simply a guy with too much money whining about his lot in life, or are there things we can learn from his journey that can help us improve our lives in retirement? Let’s chat in the comments…
