Fulfilment and the FIRE movement: The realities of life after early retirement
Individuals who achieve financial independence seek greater purpose and meaningful work to enrich their lives
THE “Financial Independence, Retire Early” (FIRE) movement has experienced a recent resurgence in popularity, particularly among younger working professionals. However, many don’t consider the impact it will have on their lives. Ongoing research by Insead professors Bala Vissa and Winnie Jiang (one of the co-authors of this article) shows that attaining financial freedom doesn’t automatically translate to a fulfilled life.
Through interviewing successful entrepreneurs who have achieved financial independence, we found that many encounter emotional ambivalence in their daily lives. While they say they now feel a sense of joy and freedom, they also grapple with feelings of emptiness and anxiety, due to the seemingly limitless possibilities that lie ahead. Consequently, they often struggle when asked, “What do you do now?” and are in a constant search for labels to define their identity and purpose.
They experiment with different answers to this question, such as “I’m an investor”, “I’m a full-time father”, or even just saying “I do nothing”. But none of these answers feel true or satisfying. The biggest challenge for these individuals is to decide which identities and purposes to pursue. The options seem boundless, but their time is limited. They find it hard to pinpoint identities that they feel truly connected to or to select purposes to which they would want to devote most of their time.
Many don’t know what they really like or want to do. Even when they do know, they lack a specific goal that can keep them motivated to work on it. While they always had specific targets to hit when they were building their own companies, now they don’t have a specific goal in mind, nor any internal or external pressures. This makes it hard to structure their days or make any plans.
Deep down, there also seems to be a fear of failure. These entrepreneurs have demonstrated their success in their previous ventures, and many know that a portion of their success was attributable to luck. They seem to worry about whether they can make the next endeavour a success as well. Such worry seems to prevent them from readily deciding what projects to pursue next.
Three approaches to life after FIRE
In general, we found that individuals take one of three broad approaches to navigating life after financial independence. Some are not particularly concerned about finding a big purpose. Instead, they keep themselves busy with different projects, such as buying small or struggling companies and growing them. These people maintain a sense of direction by having a clear idea about what they find enjoyable and filling their life with activities that keep them intrinsically motivated.
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A second group of people tends to explore different things while simultaneously searching for a bigger purpose. It might seem like they are engaging in a variety of very different projects or activities, but they are using these experiences to help them identify a new purpose, a new goal or the kind of impact they want to make, and the best way to get there.
A third group hits pause and enjoys a more relaxing lifestyle, which is very different from the fast-paced, stressful entrepreneurial life they once led. They call it decompressing, turning to focus on the things that seem mundane but make life meaningful, such as spending more time with their kids. They may switch to one of the other approaches later in life but for now, they plan to live in the moment.
Our preliminary findings suggest that it is perfectly normal to discover that life post-financial freedom isn’t as happy as one might have expected it to be. It is easy to feel a sense of isolation and therefore important to find like-minded people in similar circumstances and share feelings and ideas about how to structure and plan life ahead.
Interestingly, financially independent individuals often continue to seek purpose and meaning in the “work” they take on. To gain further insights, we spoke to two individuals who have successfully traversed the path to financial freedom. Instead of ceasing “work”, both subjects chose to engage in activities that appealed to them, while maintaining control over the quantity and quality of their work.
Rachel: From corporate grind to simple luxury
Rachel found her path to financial freedom by relying on intuition rather than a well-defined strategy from the outset. After studying and working as a beautician, life took Rachel to Spain, where she assumed operational management responsibilities at a spa. She then went on to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree, which opened the door to a corporate role at Tata Steel in the United Kingdom. While she took on more senior roles, she knew deep down that she did not appreciate working for someone else.
After nine years, she felt like she was living another person’s life and couldn’t hack it any more. “Burning out was the best thing that happened to me,” she said. “I was just following the crowd up the ladder and doing what I was supposed to do and not what I really wanted to do.” Instead, she sought out ways to make money online, starting by tutoring languages, then doing translation and eventually coaching and consulting.
Her life is now simple, freeing and fulfilling. She reduced her expenses and continues doing work she loves at a pace that suits her. Today, she coaches like-minded individuals to find their own version of freedom away from the corporate grind. She inspires others through weekly YouTube videos and has online courses, books and freelance projects that bring money in.
She travels constantly by house and pet sitting all over the world. While she makes more money now than she did working in her corporate job, she spends and consumes much less. She cherishes her newfound freedom and independence, reflecting on how her previous corporate life would have never allowed her the flexibility to spend as much time with her family or pursue her passions.
Abel: A strategic journey to financial independence
Abel studied in the Netherlands and went on to become a chartered accountant in the UK. After landing a finance role at a shipping company, Abel and his wife, who also worked in finance, began to strategically live on one salary and put the other aside. As their revenues grew, the results of the savings essentially generated a “third” salary.
Abel’s father died at 58 without getting to sail the boat he dreamed of buying when he retired. As a result, Abel and his wife became even more intentional about their priorities regarding time and money. They were extremely careful to avoid “lifestyle creep” as they watched their friends buy cars and bigger houses. They stuck to their plan, paying attention to the end goal.
In his mid-30s, Abel entered the Global Executive MBA programme at Insead as a chief financial officer (CFO), with his eyes firmly fixed on the aim of becoming a chief executive officer (CEO). However, Abel realised that a CEO position wouldn’t align with the freedom he sought. When offered it, he negotiated for the role to be interim, and took on side hustles including consulting, non-executive roles in boards, teaching and more. After a few years, Abel fully transitioned out of his day job to become a location-independent portfolio careerist.
Abel and his wife approach their life just like a business, holding strategy retreats and quarterly closings, evaluating both financial and lifestyle outcomes. Abel’s wife is now fully retired and lives full-time on boats. While Abel still finds it hard to say no to offers of work that interest and motivate him, he plans to be spending all the time he wants sailing within the next three years.
Rachel and Abel deliberately chose to keep doing work that invigorates them once they were financially independent. Their narratives demonstrate that accumulating millions is not a prerequisite for achieving financial independence; rather, lifestyle choices allowed them to define their own path to freedom.
The quest for financial independence is not a fixed endpoint. Rather, it is an ever-evolving journey that involves acknowledging the dynamic nature of one’s identity, financial situation and place in society. This holistic approach, encompassing personal values, goals and ongoing growth, is key to ensuring a fulfilling and empowered life.
Winnie Jiang is an assistant professor of organisational behaviour at Insead, Claire Harbour is a global talent expert, and Antoine Tirard is an international talent management consultant, trainer and coach.
A version of this article was first published in Insead Knowledge.
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