Life is about choices, and you only get one life to live. The only way to take control of your destiny is to decide how you really want to spend your time—which is why I chose to quit my job and live off my vast personal fortune.
It seems insane; I know. But sometimes you just have to follow your heart.
People will try and tell you the only way to live life is to work for retirement, to get a ‘regular job’ and do what everyone does: buy a house, save for your retirement, save for vacations, save-blah, money-blah. But life doesn’t have to be like that—especially if, like me, you have access to incredible wealth and are willing to give up everything you have, except for that private wealth, to live off of that private wealth.
You see, I was exhausted by getting up early every morning, braving rush hour in an UberBLACK car, being stuck at a computer in my corner office all morning, then leaving just to do it all over again the next day. In those six long weeks of traditional employment, I never stopped. I never reflected. I never breathed. I felt like I was losing a part of myself. So I gave myself permission to quit (also my Dad said it was totally fine and that he’d free up some capital for me.)
Since quitting my job, I’ve realized it’s the simple things in life that bring me joy. The feeling of Caribbean sand beneath my feet as I walk back to my private bungalow, the taste of an apple freshly sliced by my parents’ housekeeper, the sight of my four brothers racing each other around our upstate house’s grounds. You know, simple pleasures you can’t experience when you’re stuck at a cubicle five days a week; four if it’s summer; plus six weeks paid vacation with all Jewish holidays off.
That’s when you know you just weren’t meant for to have a “normal” life: When you lust, day after day, for adventure, excitement and discovery, and have such an abundance of means that it requires zero sacrifice to do so.
So when I took a subway uptown to my 11am Pilates class last week, I was shocked by the sight of people squeezing onto the train, dressed in ill-fitting suits, going to jobs that are not their one true calling. And that’s when I knew I made the right decision: to risk nothing at all in order to live the life I’ve always wanted. And that’s exactly what I did!
For everyone else still in the rat race of daily life: You don’t have to live like this! Or maybe you do, but I really do not—which is why I quit my job!
