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1975 Five of us lived in an $18k tiny house in the bad part of Pittsburgh. We were broke. Happiest time in my childhood at 8 yrs old

1982 Big house with a pool after my dad’s success. No happiness for me. I hated the ostentatious image and dad was never around.

1993 I quit work as a young chemical engineer to play music. $240/mo crappy apt, the Roanoke in Cincinnati (featured in Little Man Tate). Dead broke. Happiest time in my young adult life.

2000 making good coin as an engineer and trader in Puerto Rico with a new family. Unhappy

2005 divorced and broke. Paying ex’s bills out of unrequited sense of duty. Living in Larry’s spare bedroom, paycheck to paycheck. Some of the best friends in my life.

2009 my own engineering business making $$. Lawsuits and psycho employees. Worst period of my adult life

2017 working on the road making $110 per hour, killing it. Missed most of my kids’ high school years. Miserable.

2018 quit traveling to be with the family and trade very small. $200 - $500 per week at first, making no money, loved it.

2020 quit full-time trading after taking big loses going short. Worked my ass off and failed. Went back to engineering to make medicine that helps real people. Couldn’t be happier.

Yeah, I could come back to trading, having learned valuable lessons. But really, I see a pattern.