How much?

The question was asked first on LinkedIn where other answers can be found. My answer was:

“Mark -

You raise interesting questions: "What is the amount of money that it would take for you to never work again? This means never getting paid ever again... What is that number in 2007 U.S. dollars? Do you work towards that number? If not. Why not?"

Interesting because you are trying to quantify a measurable goal. However, the trouble with your question is that it does not indicate the hidden nature of your quest. Thus you may not like my answer altogether, though it is responsive to your final query: "If not. Why not?"

The simple answer is $0.01 because with one penny you can have one thought:
The answer to this question. What do you want out of life?

Financial success or commonsense happiness. What do you mean by success? What do you mean by happiness? As a result of not knowing what you mean, we respond under the illusion that we all share the same notions of wealth and wealth management.

My sense is that you want freedom from the wage-slave dilemma, but do not see that money has no agenda of its own. It is simply a means to support a way to the end desired.

While financial success can be quantified via a series of equations and strategies to get there, commonsense happiness is different and must be qualified by obtaining a series of milestones along a storied journey.

Find out what you want, do it, play instead of work at it, and enough money will follow.

As you pursue your dreams, I believe you will discover that leisure, not work, is the basis of whatever culture you have the capacity to enjoy with whatever money-wealth you obtain along the way.

As T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) said: "All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did." But see what happened to Lawrence when he finally discovered what he wanted out of life.

On the other hand, I recommend paying attention to your dreams at all times, day and night. They should be treasured always. See Dreams: God's Forgotten Language by John Sanford.”

What do you think?

Please include your comment here or contact me to discuss.

Thanks.

John Darrouzet