Yesterday Barry Sharpless won his second nobel prize. He is the 5th person ever and only living person to have 2 nobel prizes. DH was working with Barry when he won his 1st nobel prize in 2001. It was a privilege to meet, chat, and learn from him. DH called him a genius and he really was. I remember being 22 and impressed with his house and the guy himself when I met him. He drove a Honda Civic hatchback because he didn't care what he drove. But flew always with 2 seats in first class so he could have space for his papers to read and work on planes.
I remember him talking to a bunch of us young students, hanging yes on his every word, telling us not to give up. That we needed to find our passion. That you should love what you do because it will lead to success. That wanting to go to work would lead to money. Money he said doesn't do anything but buy you the opportunity to find happiness. He said when he just wanted to explore where science lead him.
His energy and work ethic because of his passion were amazing. And we never forget the lesson of being excited about work. When you stop being excited he said it shows and that's when it's time to move on and figure out what does excite you.
I get people working hard to FIRE and find their passion. But not all of us can easily retire super cheap and save tons of money early on. Instead some of us have to suck it up and work awhile. But we always remembered that if we weren't excited we should move on. Because the passion for work showed and it helped us stand out and succeed at our jobs rather than just sliding by and meandering.
It also was enlightening to see someone working very obviously NOT for money (he's a multimillionaire several times over and was by the time we met him). But because he loves what he does. His recent interview he was asked what is it like to know that he helped change the world by creating 2 new chemical reactions both increadibly important and revelotionary to drug discovery. Without these reactions we would not be where we are today in modern medicine. His answer "it's why he works because he wants to give back to society and loves what he does. He never imagined it would have this sort of impact."
As for us? I'm still not sure I want to be working at 81. But if I still love what I do then I guess I will. I am reminding DH now that with his startup if he loves what he does great. But after this I think he's FI, will he RE? I don't know. He's so passionate about what he does he says he can't imagine quitting. Guess following our passion has been lucrative and nice.
October 7th, 2022 at 06:13 pm 1665166396
October 8th, 2022 at 12:15 pm 1665231311
October 8th, 2022 at 03:15 pm 1665242134
At my last two jobs I worked with people well into their 80s. (They didn't work because they *had to*, they worked because they enjoyed it). I think it's important to enjoy your work. Is where you will spend most of your time.
I think this is probably why my current job is so amazing. The primary owner of the company is mega rich (his Dad is rich, and he hasn't done half bad for himself) and he retired in his 40s for a while. I don't know when he went back to work (he probably retired for at least 10 years) but for him and his son this business is more of a hobby. Neither of them have to work, at all. I can see that going in a bad way, but in this case it's just a really chill office.
My middle ground/balanced personality wants to work part time as long as possible. Is what my big major goal is at this point (being able to cut back to PT). But... Just full on retiring doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. Neither does working mega hours for one job. I need more variety in my life and fall somewhere in the middle. Heck, I might have an empty nest next year and may revisit if part-time is even that important. I will probably have large amounts of time that I have never had before.
October 8th, 2022 at 03:25 pm 1665242710
October 9th, 2022 at 05:00 am 1665291623
Oh I had to Google Barry Sharpless
October 9th, 2022 at 08:17 pm 1665346628
He's right; when it is no longer fun, it's time to quit. Teaching was no longer fun for me; I had to quit because I knew I wasn't making a big difference and it was only getting worse when people who have no idea what goes on in schools are legislating learning.
October 10th, 2022 at 07:04 pm 1665428676
October 18th, 2022 at 01:09 pm 1666098571