[mathattack]

When you come from the country club life (first paragraph) it is indeed mediocre.

I'll toss in the counterpoint that having kids that are thrilled to see you, even if you live in a tiny apartment, is anything but mediocre.

The OP seems to have a lot of priorities out of whack.

[mindcrime]

To back up your point, in what world is having a good job, nice house, and large retirement savings "mediocre"? reply

When you come from the country club life (first paragraph) it is indeed mediocre.

I would consider that mediocre as well, and I grew up about as far from "country club" life as you can get. As in, dirt-poor, below-the-poverty-line, white-trash from rural southeastern NC.

Of course, some of that is that we constantly raise the bar for ourselves (well, I do anyway). Maybe the scenario above would have sounded like heaven to me when I was 20, but it doesn't now. Just the "job" part gives me the creeps. I, for one, don't want a traditional "job" at all. My standard of the line between mediocre life and successful life involves a big element of being able to control my own fate to a greater degree, and some ability to call my own shots. Translated, that means running a company I own, not working for somebody else.

The OP seems to have a lot of priorities out of whack.

Meh. Who are we to judge? A person's priorities are their priorities... there is no "right" or "wrong" on this.

[mathattack]

I would argue that having your own company just shifts the control from your boss to your customers. The one difference is you now have more control over resources.

[AnIrishDuck]

My dad, the sole attorney in his private practice firm, put it this way: "When you work a job, you have one boss. When you own a company, you have hundreds."

[mindcrime]

I would argue that having your own company just shifts the control from your boss to your customers.

Absolutely. But, personally, I would find that preferable. There's a big difference from having to be accountable and responsive to "the market" in the aggregate (and especially when you consider that you can "fire" a bad customer) and having a "boss" - one individual who has you under his/her thumb and can unilaterally order you around.

[davidjgraph]

> The OP seems to have a lot of priorities out of whack.

Hands up everyone who had their priorities in life sorted by the of 23? (Mine is down).

[mathattack]

Point taken. :-) Mine is down too.

[sailfast]

Agreed. As a new father, having the chance to go home at a reasonable hour and have your kids smile at you can be a significant benefit that one would gladly take over increased compensation or options.

[mindcrime]

This is probably the biggest question mark I have about my own choices. I've chosen to live my life focused on achieving my vision of a "not mediocre" life, and I've sacrificed a lot of things along the way: settling down, getting married, having kids, etc.

So when I go home and visit my friends, and watch them playing with their kids and kissing their wives, etc., there's always a pang of regret that says "you could have gone this route instead". But, of course, as they say "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence", blah, blah.

But I never wanted to start a family until I was in a position to give them the kind of life that I would want them to have.

Anyway, getting married and doing all that is potentially still in the cards. Time will tell, I suppose.

[mathattack]

Never too old, and best to wait until you're ready. Just like not everyone is ready to do a start-up today, not everyone is ready for kids today. Better to be mentally and financially prepared. But if you do an even halfway decent job as a parent, your kids won't care how rich their parents are.