From reading mickey's posts I'm pretty sure he didn't choose his path to become wealthy
I think he chose it because he likes the alternative lifestyle

I respect what he does and has done

living your life working 60 hours a week in the corporate world can destroy a person's soul - I'm not denying that there are other benefits to it
if somebody tells me they are a coder and and make 100K good for them but I have no interest in what they do and it doesn't impress me

I lived my life in the corporate world and only APed part time
what I did was so boring I would never even bother to describe it to anyone
it provided me with income and stability but other than that it pretty much sucked

probably only a very small % of those doing traditional types of work including those who are professionals would consider their work to be very rewarding in other than a financial way