[6stringmerc]

Pompous? Sure, but I'm the one with the English degree who doesn't go telling other people it was a waste of time, effort, or intellect to use the journey constructively. The point of the personal essay was to elevate his experience as some sort of ideal, off-hand, and I think that's incredibly insulting to people who grind day in and day out on what they love and can barely eat. It's one thing to talk about self-actualization when living hand-to-mouth, it's another when sitting on financial security.

"The only difference between crazy and eccentric is the size of the bank account."

[coldtea]

Self-actualisation doesn't have much to do with being rich or not (riches might even be an impediment as much as being poor -- "slave to money", "golden handcuffs", etc.).

Besides, PG is not lecturing some third world sneaker factory workers. His audience is startup founders and/or developers, that, as a rule, don't live "hand to mouth".

And the particular advice (whether right or wrong) applies to all income levels. Even if you're a starving artist It can be good to "copy what you genuinely like" as a way to progress (artistically, if not financially).