Hypothetical - 6 Months to Do Whatever You Wanted

Was chatting with a friend about this hypothetical the other day, and would be interested in how many of you would respond to the prompt above. If you could spend six months doing anything in the world you wanted, regardless of cost (assume it would be fully comped) what would you do? There are no wrong answers, you could try and become an F1 driver, manage an NFL team, whatever your heart desires. 

Personally, I was thinking it would be really cool to live in a cabin in the middle of the Pacific North West alone. I would try and cook all my own meals, and leave only to attend a local gym / ski / spend time in observing nature. I would try and journal regularly and better get to know myself as an individual. Feeling fairly lost after a handful of years in the corporate world. I think there is something greater for me out there, and it has nothing to do with the prestige of my job title or the size of my salary. 

I realize this might sound super lame relative to say "yachting through the Caribbean" but right now, I feel like what I need most is some perspective. Ideally, I would leave my friends, GF, family, behind for a period of time and just focus on myself and try to appreciate what I have. Does this sound absolutely mad? 

Curious what others would opt to do, please share. 

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I know you're poking fun, but I think it is very easy to get caught up in the fast-paced world we live in. We spend so much time working that rarely do we have enough time to even reflect on if we're working toward the right thing. Do you not doubt your path, ever? 

Many of us on this site frequently state or like comments where users admit they dont know if they are on the right path in life, but are too afraid to try something different. Wouldn't it be nice to take a proper amount of time to try and answer that question, or do you prefer to just plug and chug through the next LBO while you hypothesize if you can generate a 18% IRR through multiple expansion and 1-3% revenue growth? Idk man, maybe you're in too deep to understand. 

I for one personally know many who have jumped off the finance bandwagon, and let me tell you, none of them were bottom bucket performers. They simply realized there was more to life than saying theyre "comfortable"

 

I would get in the craziest shape of my life while simultaneously giving competitive sports one last go. To be more specific, I would train BJJ every morning, Muay Thai during the day, and boxing at night. Whichever of the three I exceled at the most (or MMA if I felt skilled at multiple but not particularly great at any) I would begin getting amateur fights in for and see how far I can take it. Best case scenario I end up competing at a high-level; most likely scenario is I would get into crazy shape and always feel like I could protect myself and others moving forward (beyond having a weapon of course); and worst case scenario I may take a couple blows to the head and get some CTE.... Worth the risk!

 
Maximum Leverage

I would get in the craziest shape of my life while simultaneously giving competitive sports one last go. To be more specific, I would train BJJ every morning, Muay Thai during the day, and boxing at night. Whichever of the three I exceled at the most (or MMA if I felt skilled at multiple but not particularly great at any) I would begin getting amateur fights in for and see how far I can take it. Best case scenario I end up competing at a high-level; most likely scenario is I would get into crazy shape and always feel like I could protect myself and others moving forward (beyond having a weapon of course); and worst case scenario I may take a couple blows to the head and get some CTE.... Worth the risk!

I bet I can take you. Three piece and a soda 

 

Nomadic sailing trip throughout a region of the world (SE Asia, Mediterranean, Caribbean, etc.). Sailing for several days, docking for 2-3 days, exploring the island throughout the day, sleeping on the boat at night. Meeting new people, experiencing new places, foods, cultures. Ideally would go with a friend or two and make some more along the way. Read during downtime and reestablish my connection with nature. Not sure if 6 months would be overkill or if I could do it in 3 months. Either way, this has always been a dream of mine for a while now.

 

I actually did this last year for 9 months. I abruptly left PE for a bit and decided to pursue an entrepreneurial endeavor while also hyper focusing on doing all the things that I missed out on after working in sweatshops for 4-5 years and a pretty brutal undergrad workload. 

It was fucking amazing. Basically I just got in the best shape of my life, dated a ton of girls, hung out with all my friends/family that I couldn't see when working in IB/PE before that, and even took a 2 week trip to Latin America that was dope af, all while working on my startup idea. You learn so much about yourself when you can take an extended break away from the IB/PE grind. 

"I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse."
 

Thank you for sharing. Very interested in a couple things: 

1. What were your biggest takeaways from a general life perspective? Do you think differently now? 

2. Are you still in PE or pursuing your startup, or both?

3. What were your biggest changes in perspective? (e.g., do you still view the rat race in the same light) 

 

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