You only get what Mary Oliver calls "your one wild and precious life." So if living it well means giving up the 401k, walking away from the house and filing bankruptcy, then that's a valid choice.
[edit] I keep that poem on my desktop so I can read the last two lines every day and it is slowly coming to influence the decisions I make:
"Tell me what is it you plan to do With your one wild and precious life?"
His researched book "What should I do with my life?" is interesting, in a college alumni notes kind of way, for picking up and opening to a random page and reading one of the 70 profiles (which are categorized). It's a great coffee table book for kindling conversations.
I liked the profile of the woman who was a top toner sales executive.
"Keeping your doors open" is a trap. It's an excuse to stay uninvolved. I call the people who have the hardest time closing doors Phi Beta Slackers. They hop between esteemed grad schools, fat corporate gigs, and prestigious fellowships, looking as if they have their act together but still feeling like observers, feeling as if they haven't come close to living up to their potential.
