Similar story here, been doing the crazy startup founder hours for half a decade now, haven't really lived much outside of the office in that time. Feeling also trapped: if I drop out, then I'm somewhat giving up on all of the people who over the years I had to convince to join me in a vision that I'm becoming tired of. It'd very likely lead to the collapse of a source of fulfillment, purpose and income for many people, but at the same time I suppose I have only one life and don't have to be a martyr.
What's something someone with a strong entrepreneurial, technical and managerial background (and very good pedigree) can do for maybe 20 hours a week and still pay the bills? I would love to drop out of the race for a few years and smell the roses.
There's a documentary ("Some kind of monster") on Metallica's creative process for the St Anger album. It shows James Hetfield (arguably the band's leader) wanting to have a more balanced schedule, and adapting the band's process to fit to it. The result was a very mediocre album.
> What's something someone with a strong entrepreneurial, technical and managerial background (and very good pedigree) can do for maybe 20 hours a week and still pay the bills? I would love to drop out of the race for a few years and smell the roses.
Consulting. Small business. Almost anything really.
How hard is it to make some $5k per month if you have a skill that you can charge $100+/hour for! About a week and a half of work per month.
All else being equal, you should consider stopping the madness, it will probably better for everyone long term than more and more years on the same path.
What's something someone with a strong entrepreneurial, technical and managerial background (and very good pedigree) can do for maybe 20 hours a week and still pay the bills? I would love to drop out of the race for a few years and smell the roses.