A really smart businessman told me something 20 years ago that has stuck with me. He said, when you work for someone else, you're only going to make as much as money as they'll let you make. That sucks, but that's just the way it is.
I agree 100% that's was the goal the 19 year old had in my original post that achieved was by 30. Not only did he achieve it by 30 but he was basically retired and managing his own investments by then. That was a very simple and realistic scenario. However, the problem is most people don't start out with those goals, have no strategy to get there, and certainly don't have the discipline to follow through. Most people would rather have more stuff in the short term, than enjoy the returns of hard work, sacrifice, and financial discipline early on until you can really afford to loosen the belt strap so to speak.
