“I Quit” Is the Wrong Legacy (And Here’s a Better Future)

Recently, I sent a mini-post to my newsletter subscribers about reclaiming financial independence as a tool for deeper engagement—using it to connect, create, and contribute instead of opting out. Today, I’m reflecting on your feedback.

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I want to thank everyone who reached out last week to my newsletter mini-post. I like the newsletter format, and I might start exclusively writing there more often (subscribe for free here). I’ve honestly struggled all along to express myself on the wide-open internet. Although I’ve never experienced the horrors of the web, I’m still surprised sometimes by how thoughtless people can be. I enjoy the fireside “newsletter” vibes, speaking to a smaller group of people—most of whom I don’t know and couldn’t fit around a normal-size campfire.

Another thing: I’ve made it my goal over the past few years to steer people toward financial independence but away from early retirement. I have many reasons, and I’ve laid those out over numerous blog posts and podcast episodes, like this one.

These are the big themes:

1. Early retirement can lead to social disengagement and disenfranchisement.
2. Early retirement pulls talented people from a workforce that needs them. Solving our challenges, I believe, demands collective action.
3. Early retirement (eventually) leads to a crisis of purpose. Crisis is a strong word, but I’m sticking with it. See #1 and #2.

Through conversations, I’ve learned that people love idioms. They need time to “step back,” “fill their cup,” or “put on their mask before helping others.” Some even want to “touch the oven to know it’s hot.” I love idioms too—we’re speaking the same language. I hear you.

Over the last few years, I’ve found it easy to forget how good I have it. I sometimes disregard that I needed every minute of the last five years to be where I am today. Maybe I needed to be selfish, but I’m not sure. If you’ve spent years giving and giving and giving, you need not apologize for taking a little. I acted selfishly for years, so now I’m ready to give again. I suspect those impulses ebb and flow over a lifetime.

Maybe you need a year to travel. I get why stepping away from a job you hate feels urgent. I won’t argue with that. Take the time you need. But the purpose of that newsletter post was to get everyone thinking about how to start re-engaging when ready. Because let’s be real: Few will travel for decades. How hard or how often you climb will one day not matter. You’ll catch up on sleep or recover from burnout. These things take months to years, not decades. Then there’s the rest of your life.

The legacy of this “movement” won’t be a legion of early retirees. The legacy will be reshaping a dysfunctional and overly rigid work culture. Even ten years ago, sabbaticals were almost entirely within the realm of academia. Now they’re on the rise in the private sector. Look elsewhere and you’ll find folks securing part-time jobs, remote or hybrid work schedules, or more vacation.

Financial strength may provide the power to quit your job, but my ultimate hope is that eventually you find work that leverages your strengths and provides a sense that what you do matters. And, ideally, you get the autonomy to have some control of your schedule and even a bit of seasonality. You’ll be the first to know when I’ve found that grail.

Until next time.

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