If you don't mind me saying, it sounds to me like you've come into more money and success than you've ever had and now you're feeling guilty about it. You SEE yourself as a guy who works and creates stuff, not a capitalist on a yacht; but, when you glance at your accounts, your mind is telling you that you are, in fact, a fat capitalist on a yacht telling everyone down below to row.
This is creating guilt and cognitive dissonance.
But that isn't you. The amount of zeroes on a bank statement does not a man make. The reason you went out looking for jobs even though you didn't need them is not because you were bored. It's because you wanted to convince others (yourself, really) that you haven't let success go to your head.
Well, I can tell by your post that you haven't let it go to your head. And you know what, it probably won't. Those people who get rich and then turn into complete douche-nozzles... guess what? They were douche-nozzles to begin with! Money tends to amplify one's personality, not alter it.
So relax!
Give yourself permission to:
- Buy that car or boat or whatever you've always wanted. Just keep the Tercel ;-)
- Travel, explore, learn, teach, whatever. If money is no object, the first thing I'd love to do is drive trucks for 6 months or so. The next thing would be to get my PhD. Do what you've always wanted to do if you didn't have to work... because you don't.
- Create! Use your coding skills for yourself. If you don't have the urge to write code, don't. But if you do, don't worry if it doesn't have a market or an exit strategy, just write it and feel good. Share it. You'll enjoy it again.
Bottom line: you have worked hard, developed a great product, saw it through to a nice exit, and are in a position to enjoy the fruits of your success. We at HN hereby give you permission to do so ;-)
I would say he should keep his toes wet… dabble with some small pet project, or something to keep his skills sharp. Or even learn a new tech. Just don't let your skills go dull, while you're living it up… but definitely enjoy the fruits of your labor!
Take a break, do little projects & kick around for a bit, and contact interesting-looking companies about jobs occasionally... but don't jump for anything serious until you feel genuinely excited about it.
Give that part of your brain/spirit time to recover. As much time as it really needs, if you can afford it.
All that said, if you're interested into a side project that falls squarely into your line of experience, I have an interactive music site that needs rethinking and that's getting more & more requests on UserVoice for iPhone/iPad apps; I also have my own brainstorming on how to transform it into something really useful:
This is creating guilt and cognitive dissonance.
But that isn't you. The amount of zeroes on a bank statement does not a man make. The reason you went out looking for jobs even though you didn't need them is not because you were bored. It's because you wanted to convince others (yourself, really) that you haven't let success go to your head.
Well, I can tell by your post that you haven't let it go to your head. And you know what, it probably won't. Those people who get rich and then turn into complete douche-nozzles... guess what? They were douche-nozzles to begin with! Money tends to amplify one's personality, not alter it.
So relax!
Give yourself permission to:
- Buy that car or boat or whatever you've always wanted. Just keep the Tercel ;-)
- Travel, explore, learn, teach, whatever. If money is no object, the first thing I'd love to do is drive trucks for 6 months or so. The next thing would be to get my PhD. Do what you've always wanted to do if you didn't have to work... because you don't.
- Create! Use your coding skills for yourself. If you don't have the urge to write code, don't. But if you do, don't worry if it doesn't have a market or an exit strategy, just write it and feel good. Share it. You'll enjoy it again.
Bottom line: you have worked hard, developed a great product, saw it through to a nice exit, and are in a position to enjoy the fruits of your success. We at HN hereby give you permission to do so ;-)