You’ve given up a lot of future income - a lot. Do a FV calculation on 150-200k a year in your 20s (working 10 years and compounding 30) over 40 years. Work the next 10 years and then go back to being an entrepreneur.
Being in a similar boat to OP at almost the same age, I have to admit that thinking about such facts from time to time can be sobering.
"Didn't want that million dollars of potential income anyways.", as you struggle to get by, your personal life in tatters.
The worst part is that even when you throw in the towel and either give up or defer your startup plans, even the prospect of getting a 9-5 feels like failure, a waste; the death of your own personal identity.
I think part of the reason it sucks so hard is, when you're on your own working towards some insurmountable task, you develop a broad skillset that's also very specialized in some ways, and it feels like a waste to just get a 9-5 that doesn't leverage your full skillset. You also know you'll probably be creating far more value than you're being paid, but that's the tradeoff with most tech jobs.
It's also compounded by aging, and all the usual mid-life crisis stuff that entails, just amplified since often one's 20s are perceived to be wasted if there's a failed startup involved during that time period.
The sunk cost fallacy and the perception of time lost both conspire to really mess with you.
"Didn't want that million dollars of potential income anyways.", as you struggle to get by, your personal life in tatters.
The worst part is that even when you throw in the towel and either give up or defer your startup plans, even the prospect of getting a 9-5 feels like failure, a waste; the death of your own personal identity.
I think part of the reason it sucks so hard is, when you're on your own working towards some insurmountable task, you develop a broad skillset that's also very specialized in some ways, and it feels like a waste to just get a 9-5 that doesn't leverage your full skillset. You also know you'll probably be creating far more value than you're being paid, but that's the tradeoff with most tech jobs.
It's also compounded by aging, and all the usual mid-life crisis stuff that entails, just amplified since often one's 20s are perceived to be wasted if there's a failed startup involved during that time period.
The sunk cost fallacy and the perception of time lost both conspire to really mess with you.