“Poor Emil Barr. He may have to enter the witness-protection program reserved for people who suggest hard work might have its rewards ("'Work-Life Balance' Will Keep You Mediocre," op-ed, Aug. 19). It's a fate, as far as I can tell, escaped only by Palantir CEO Alex Karp who recently said, "I've never met someone really successful who had a great social life at 20." The audience knew better than to clap in agreement, since only free-wheeling billionaires seem to revel in cancellation.
Don't get me wrong. I don't consider Mr. Barr a boy genius. He says dumb things. No one makes a ton of money by 30 and coasts forever. Even the very rich flame out and rebuild. Mr. Barr also presses his thumb on the cringe button by suggesting he's motivated by a desire to devote his life to world peace. Original.
But I do give him points for saying something I only mutter to my M.B.A. students while also asking forgiveness for being an "oldster." You can't well-being yourself to wealth. There are going to be seasons of misery, which could last years. That might not be fair, but it's how life tends to go.
My occasion for this view is my career-planning class. As part of the curriculum, all students take the "Values Bridge," an assessment we created in my lab that orders each respondent's values from 1 to 15. More than 45,000 people have taken it since May, giving us a fascinating picture of values across generations, nationalities, income levels, sexes and professions.
It turns out that nearly 70% of Gen Z respondents rank "eudemonia" as a top value. That's the Greek word for "flourishing," covering such desires as self-care, pleasure and fun. More than 40% also greatly value affluence, which you might translate as "being rich." Only 25% value "workcentrism," our term for working for the satisfaction of it, and even fewer value "achievement," or success other people can see. Sixty-two percent say they want less achievement in their lives.
All of which makes Mr. Barr an outlier, and likely soon a pariah. Something tells me, though, he may not notice -- or by the time he does, he may be too rich to care.
New York
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I admire Mr. Barr's achievements. Building a multimillion-dollar business in college takes creativity, resilience and drive. His call for 20-somethings to work harder is a good one.
But two parts of his argument deserve another look. First, while test-taking ability may peak in our 20s, judgment and emotional intelligence mature later. The stereotype of the college-dropout founder is more myth than reality: For the fastest-growing U.S. startups, the average founder's age is 45.
Second, the "traditional path" he dismisses can be quietly powerful. I've advanced in a corporate career, lived beneath my means and invested steadily. I'm 34 and have built financial security without burning out, losing sleep or sacrificing relationships. Efficient capital markets allow ordinary workers -- not merely prodigies -- to reach independence.
Mr. Barr offers a model for the few who thrive on extremes. The rest of us know that wealth built on 3 1/2 hours of sleep a night isn't freedom -- it's simply another prison.
New York” [1]
1. A Little 'Workcentrism' Is Good for You, Gen Z. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 23 Aug 2025: A12.
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