Over dinner at Google tonight, Vanessa and I caught up on the current state of our old friends from Caltech.
W opened up a bar in a rural town in China.
X works at a bookstore in Seattle.
Y is living in Los Angeles and relaxing (i.e. not working).
Z is living in South America and relaxing (i.e. not working).
It is surprising how many of our classmates turned their back on the fields they studied at Caltech. Imagine it: you work passionately throughout your teen years, culminating in four years of rigorous study at Caltech. You put in long hours to get a degree from one of the highest ranked science and engineering universities.
Then you turn your back on it, to pursue a life that takes no advantage of those talents.
As far as I can tell, all these people are very happy.
Three years ago, after Wesley left his software startup, I invited him to consider working for Google. He decided no, and instead moved to China and turned an old building into a bar.
When we exchanged email last year, he said something to the effect of, "Occasionally I have 1% regret over the financial impact of that decision. But I wouldn't trade my current feeling of freedom for any amount of money."
...
It reminds me of a conversation with Cliff a couple years ago, about the dynamics in relationships.
I said, "The person who cares less has more power."
Cliff said, "No, the person who needs less has more power."
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7 comments:
I love this post. It rings very true.
This instant and eternity are struggling within us. And this is the cause of all of our contradictions, our obstinacy, our narrow-mindedness, our faith and our grief.
- Arvo Pärt
finally, niniane is in a old Chinese mood :D
Good post,so where is Wesley's Bar? Maybe I have the chance to that rural town. :) seriously.
I disagree with Cliff - I can need more and care less when my partner cares more than I do, and she's apt to fulfill my needs while requiring less of me.
But then, it may be that I see a partner as a "want" and not as a "need", and that therefore everything is based on whether I care or not.
Related to what Bene was saying, I don't think the people pursuing these alternate career paths have "lesser" needs, rather just different ones.
I think it's difficult to place value on a given career choice without evaluating what the person truly wants out of life.
Great post.
Anonymous @2:14am: great quote. I was just listening to Passio last night.
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