herewegoagain said:
Assume you're 40 years old and have enough passive income to cover all your expenses (and retirement of course). You also have a family and children in school so traveling the world or something similar is not really possible.
How are you personally spending your time that feels both fun and also impactful to the world?
I know there will be some silly answers here, but I hope some of you will answer seriously because I value the hell out of many of you. Thanks in advance for anyone who answers!
Generic advice: get a job.
I think people are their healthiest when they have responsibility. Imposing this on yourself without some kind of external motivator is VERY difficult. Most people I know can't do it. Even for entrepreneurs the risk, the upside of winning, and their clients and teams depending on them are important ingredients.
I think you need to have something that if you don't show up it matters. Where there are some short-term consequences if you don't show up. You can't just wake up one day and decide not to do it.
The fact that you've got financial freedom is awesome. You can find a job that you really like and not worry about whether or not it pays the bills. Work for a charity that can't afford to pay you much. Be a teacher. Be a coach. Run for office. If your kids are young enough then being a SAHD can probably check this box for a while.
I think volunteering is great but dangerous. Even if you don't need the money it's a lot easier to quit as a volunteer than it is to quit a job.
So I guess my answer is to define for yourself what you think is impactful, find someone who is doing important work in that area, and then go work for them.