The Golden Cage: When Wealth Becomes a Prison - Article 2

Start with Article 1 of the Series

After achieving financial freedom, we often find ourselves trapped in a golden cage - a comfortable existence that feels empty and unfulfilling.

The way out is through the deliberate pursuit of purpose - our deep-seated need to give, to contribute, to matter.

Yet, many never take that path. They stay trapped for years. Some, forever.

But why? If purpose is so deeply wired into us, why don’t we just break free and pursue it?

I’ve spent over a decade now searching for answers. Here’s what I found.

What keeps us stuck are our own mental blocks - locks on the cage door. To escape, we must crack their code.

Some of these blocks formed long before financial freedom. Others were created by it.

Why do we stay trapped in the golden cage?

Once we stop working, we start replacing work-supporting habits with ones centered on well-being.

This is a positive shift - until it isn’t. If we avoid work for too long, those same habits start weaving our cage, trapping us inside. 

The cage shields us, allowing us to grow soft, drifting into self-indulgence.

Our skills and achievement muscles weaken. Our edge dulls. Without the direction and structure our work once provided, we drift.

The longer we stay inside, the stronger these habits become, making it harder to leave.

As the cage hardens, our will weakens. Staying inside feels easy, even natural. It becomes our new habitat. 

Breaking out feels increasingly difficult. But also unnecessary, as we lose conviction that anything beyond the cage can truly fill the void.

Socially, we begin attracting others stuck in their own cages, reinforcing the illusion that this is normal - the right, even the only, post-wealth path.

Eventually, we settle into external comfort. Yet, the internal discomfort and emptiness within us persist, keeping fulfillment out of reach.

So how do we break out?

Getting out of the golden cage is like an escape room: we have to spot the clues, solve the puzzles, and open the locks before time runs out.

I’ve identified six of the most common, and trickiest, such locks. 

Today, I address the first lock - the widely accepted myth that financially free people no longer need to work.

This belief is as dangerous as it is seductive. 

It gives us an excuse to avoid work, fostering a chronic aversion to it. Yet work is an indispensable part of purpose. In rejecting work, we unknowingly reject purpose itself, leaving nothing to fill the gnawing emptiness - blocking our path to fulfillment.

Let’s expose this lock. Only by recognizing its grip can we begin cracking its code.

Lock #1: Wealthy People Do Not Need To Work

Most of us spent years pushing ourselves to the limit to achieve financial freedom because we wanted the option not to work.

Wealth meant escaping work.

So when we finally get there, we celebrate not working as the ultimate achievement.

But that freedom comes at a hidden cost.

When we stopped working, we traded purpose for freedom, not realizing what we gave away.

We did not appreciate the role purpose played in our lives until it was gone.

Most of us weren’t actively seeking purpose - it was simply built into our work. We created, built, solved problems. We contributed daily.

Maybe we chased money and validation, but beneath it all, work quietly fulfilled something deeper - our need to give. It gave us purpose.

Only after losing it do we feel the void. Time drags, energy scatters, and life starts to feel meaningless. And we are deeply lonely.

At first, we may call it boredom. But it runs deeper.

Work gave us significance - real significance, based on contribution, not vanity.

Without it, we wake up to a painful question: What’s my relevance to others now? Do I still matter?

This can spiral into self-doubt, chronic loneliness and low energy. It can lead to depression, anxiety, and eventually physical decline.

And it won’t stop, hidden beneath the surface, unrecognized, until we find a new way to give our best. 

Until we reclaim purpose.

Because purpose isn’t a luxury - it’s a fundamental need, hardwired into us.

And without meaningful work, without giving our best, this need remains unmet.

But we don’t notice right away. We’re too busy celebrating freedom. Often, for years.

Then, one day, the party ends.

We feel empty. Because, like it or not, there is no purpose without work.

To reclaim purpose, we must let go of the idea that not working can lead to fulfillment. We must stop avoiding work. 

Instead, we must see work differently - as the answer to our emptiness. A source of joy, deep satisfaction, and holistic health. 

A necessity. A path to fulfillment.

We should see financial freedom not as an escape from work, but as a chance to find the work that lets us give our best - an opportunity to realize our purpose.

This time, armed with wealth as powerful leverage.

Instead of believing that work is something financially free people leave behind, we should see it as something wise wealthy people choose to do.

Because deliberately choosing the work that allows us to give our best is the ultimate post-wealth luxury.

Great examples of unlocking Lock #1:

• Daniel Ek's inspirational journey from his first exit to building Spotify. 

• Michael and Kass Lazerow’s discovery of the beauty of hard work after their $800M exit.

In my next article, I’ll break down Lock #2: Confusing Pleasure with Purpose. 

Stay tuned!