<But the biggest factor in being able to retire early, for me, is a frugal lifestyle. The second biggest factor was realizing that I didn't have to be a success in the eyes of the company to be happy. I cannot stress the importance of these two things. The world tells you to spend, spend, spend, and it also tells you that if you don't follow the corporate guide to success, you're a failure. This is all brainwashing.>


Congrats on reaching both your financial and emotional milestone!

In reading this part of your post I was reminded of George Harrisons final album which was released posthumously a little over a year ago. Interestingly enough it was entitled Brainwashed. I think it was his best album since All Things Must Pass. He takes on a lot of the things you mention head on in that and other songs on the album.

While he certainly did not have to deal with the workaday world that most of us know, he lived a fairly quiet, private and spiritual life mostly out of the spotlight. I think that all of us need for that light bulb to go off that shows us there is in fact a better way. Your coworkers have yet to find the switch. Another great song on that album (I guess I kinda give my age away by calling it an album instead of a CD) is called Any Road. It has a great sound to it and George plays an instrument I was unfamiliar with: a banjulele. Jeff Lynne, George's son Dhani and his long time friend Jim Keltner also play on the song and most of the album. The main chorus line may be very apt for the colleagues you have left behind: "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there".


BRG