Opportunity costs and the missed investment returns

I am now in my mid 40s. I started working in tech in the mid-90s. I was ambitious and mainly only worked for or led tech startups. (I did well for myself, so can't complain too much)

When I look back on my career, had I went with my intuition at critical times, instead of what I felt was 'my duty' (or whatever justification I made to deny my intuitive senses), I would clearly be further ahead. In total, I probably wasted several years waiting for people or situations to change for the better, passing up several ultimately better opportunities.

No offense, but you don't understand. Opportunity cost means specifically you aren't leaving money on the table. It means you are grabbing the pennies when you could be pursuing a more lucrative options. When you are 20 those options don't mean a million dollar deal, they mean not taking the better job that pays about the same but lets you earn 20k more in 2-3 years because you are doing something you love and thriving in it with fewer restarts. That over 20-40 years adds up to "millions in the bank", which is what the original poster said, not millions on the table.

A few times not seeing bad management in a startup where you took options rather than a decent wage would do it too.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_cost