How should a parent advise a relatively young son who chooses to retire early and be a loafer after he has achieved financial independence?
The son is in his early 40s. He has achieved financial independence after a decade of patient saving and investing despite a lacklustre career and even losing his job a couple of times. The father feels proud that the son is able to take care of himself financially despite bad luck in life. The son has never given the father cause to worry, at least when it comes to money.
Recently, the son announces that he want to retire and become a loafer. Rather than stay in a job or start some business in order to contribute to society, the son prefers to loaf around and invest/trade full-time to earn a living.
As a parent, how would you advise the son?
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As the father in this situation, the first thing I would do is thoroughly examine my life to find why I think that remaining idle after retirement is a bad idea. Having developed philosophically sound reasons for continuing to work hard even when it is not necessary, I would then expound these to my son and try to bring him around to my viewpoint.
It's all very well to have a strong work ethic, but it doesn't automatically appeal to everyone. It is a belief system and as such it must be vigorously proselytized. I can't just wave my hands around and say it's a good thing; I have to tell my son why it's a good thing. And I can't do that unless I know why and can articulate the reasons.
On the other hand, if I can't develop philosophically sound reasons for continuing to work hard even when it is not necessary, then my son is living right, and I should just shut up.
One more thing must be noted here: investing and trading full-time to earn a living does not automatically equate to loafing around. Done properly, it is damn hard work, and significantly increases the common wealth.
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