In the book Becoming Steve Jobs is a point I remember well.
“I wish I could have seen Steve Jobs 3.0. Seeing him from age fifty-five to seventy-five would have been fascinating. If you’re in good health at that age, 3.0 should be the best.
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I quit Microsoft 9 years ago at 46. Spending 26 years at Microsoft, Apple, and HP I was done. Part of quitting Microsoft is I realized it was better to quit before I turned 50 to think about what I wanted to do next. There is very little chance I would have made it at Microsoft for the last 9 years and make it to 55.
Now I am 55. Well tomorrow I am. My health which includes physical, mental, and social aspects of health are so much better than 9 years ago. And, the ideas of what is a 3.0 version of life are coming together nicely. Working at great companies like HP, Apple, and Microsoft were valuable, but I've realized there are so many other things I can do that are so much easier when not being constrained by corporate managers. I can blog and write whatever I feel like. I can research ideas. Challenge the status quo without being reprimanded by my boss.
Ironically the ideas I am working on have corporate managers as the users, but probably less than 10% see the true value of the service as it works for those who want to transform the way they run operations, but it requires a different way of looking at things. 10% of the users is still plenty big and we'll help them out compete the rest.
A lesson I learned taking a break when quitting Microsoft is to focus on your social health. Who your friends are. With great social health your mental health naturally improves. Feeling better socially and mentally, then your physical health wants to catch up. Looking at problems in different ways is the luxury of the 3.0 stage of life. On the other hand I think there are plenty of people who think the 3.0 stage of life is about endless vacations and hobbies like playing golf. Is that how you think you'll improve your social, mental, and physical health?