A well-paid, comfortable job is a curse

NIETZSCHE WROTE that precisely when young people are ready to be sent out into the wild, they’re instead put into “safe” jobs and bureaucracies. When I graduated from law school (what feels like) a long time ago, I made a promise to myself: “If you ever get employed, make sure it’s only temporary—once you get too comfortable, you’ll get trapped like a fly on a spiderweb.” Luckily, I never got employed. Not even for one single day. How is that even possible?

Certainly I’m hiding something. Maybe my parents are wealthy. Maybe I gambled and bought too much crypto when it was cheap. Maybe I inherited some crazy genes. Or maybe I married the Queen of Denmark. Unfortunately, none of these are true.

You may read part 1 here. My goal with this essay (part 2) is not to shame people who are (happily) employed but rather to praise and spoil anyone who boasts an artistic and entrepreneurial spirit as it’s a much higher virtue than we culturally consider. In any case, if you still get offended—ask yourself why. The next (controversial) section is available to paid subscribers, for just 5 EUR/month.

One of the worst things I would hate to tell my (grand)children when I grow old is that I’ve stayed in a well-paid, comfortable job my entire life doing nothing but sending emails and taking care of endless spreadsheets—waiting for my paycheck to predictably hit my bank account every month. It may sound like a gift. But it’s a curse. “The problem isn’t being on a steady salary,” Nassim Taleb wrote, “the problem is enjoying it.”