[msyea]

I recently did the same thing. Hit 30; reflected on last decade. I had moderate success consulting but didn’t get a single product off the ground. Considering the lost potential earnings, the need to reset savings and the lack of a pension I thought it prudent to get a full-time job. I’ve now been employed for 8 months or so and it’s a huge relief. Formerly every waking hour was working on the product. Now it’s 9-5 working for the man and then have the rest of the time to relax. It’s been truely impactful. I’ve started reading again and am much happier! Being an employee isn’t for me but I will stay with new status quo for a couple of years, get a healthy financial buffer and start something else again. I’m working for a medium sized company and am an engineer with limited responsibilities.

[usgroup]

I think that this is fair advise and undoubtedly appropriate for some. Especially those that have cast their net badly and now believe that their time spent as an entrepreneur wasn't worth it. For others however, going back to work in that sort of capacity and being happy about it will read like celebrating a lobotomy.

I think that it's a bad world out there in many ways. When your back is up against the wall, it's a good time to think whether you want to use that opportunity to learn to emotionally deal with risk, anxiety and maybe even crisis. Because how you deal with a situation in which the shit properly hits the fan will decide a lot about what comes after it for you.