TC or GTFO

Finally made an appointment with my doctor last week after being in bad health for past couple of weeks. He ran few tests and finally came back with news I never expected, at least not at age of 35. I have terminal lung cancer and have barely an year to live at max. As I retrospect on my life, the only thing I can think of is I wish I hadn’t worked this hard. I never gave my lovely wife the attention she deserved because I was working too hard to get promoted for a higher TC. I missed my kid’s first birthday because I was so busy trying to meet a deadline. I never returned countless calls from my parents because I was busy leetcoding to switch jobs and get a higher TC. I know that it is very hard to resonate with me if you are not in my shoes. But if you do, please do value people and relationships more than anything else. Have lots of gratitude and be happy with what you have today and enjoy everyday of your life. Money is a number and numbers are infinite. When you are counting your days, you will not think of the number of figures in your TC or number of promos you had or what FAANG you work for even for a second. Only thing you will think of is all those romantic getaways with your spouse or the first time you held your kid in your hands or of that surprise visit you paid your parents on their anniversary and how happy that made them. Only time you think of your TC is when you wish you could use all that TC to buy some more time, just enough to make it to another of your kid’s birthday or your anniversary. Sadly I cannot. TC or GTFO? Unfortunately it is GTFO for me, whether I want it or not.