I was 23 years old. I was sleeping in a closet for $300 a month. I was working at a Mexican restaurant in the morning, taught kids in the afternoon, and some nights I worked at a bar. I was bussing a table where I overheard a guy talk about how he was thinking of retiring early since his 401k is worth millions because “The Economy” was doing incredible. His bar tab costs more than my monthly expenses.

I went home taking leftover uneaten food by customers.

I think about that all the time, even while I’m making senior software engineer money today.