Early Retirement Taught Me That We’ve All Been Sold a Lie

Nine months ago, I was laid off from my Big Tech job.

After 25 years in the technology industry, I suddenly found myself outside the machine I had spent most of my adult life helping to operate.

I call it involuntary early retirement.

And I know how fortunate I am.

I had spent years working in well-paid technology jobs, saving aggressively and investing. That eventually gave me financial independence, the ability to pay for my life without needing a traditional paycheck.

So when the layoff came, I didn’t have to immediately scramble for another job.

Instead, something strange happened.

I got something most people spend their entire lives chasing:

I got my time back.

And with that time came a perspective I never had while I was working.

For the first time, I was able to step outside the flow of normal life and actually watch it.

And from that vantage point, I’ve started to wonder whether many of the things we’ve been taught about how to live are fundamentally wrong.