Is working worth the gym membership, video games and travel? Perhaps the solution is to work, do and own less more generally. Trying to find a trick to fool your mind into liking an activity you don't only seems healthy for the corporate balance sheet, not you as a individual.

> own less more generally

Absolutely. I save like 60-70% (depending on how you count taxes) every month and plan on stopping traditional work at 40. I'll probably have enough money to coast at that point and I can take up some contracting work a few months a year instead of being stuck in the 9-5. That goal is the only thing that keeps me sane.

Sounds like some kind of Witness Protection program.

Try posting some vlog type of videos on YouTube. You don't need to have a super huge following to make good money on YouTube.

Writing fantasy novels, fitness programs, games and travel reviews?

i will get rich and pay you to be my friend but you have to play jrpgs sometimes and be nice to me. or maybe just kill me in my sleep that'd be ok too.

A friend of mine was a video game producer for about 15 years... kinds sounds like his job?? Except he was a dad and not a gym rat, YMMV.

Making video games is not even remotely similar to playing video games.

Source: I work in the game dev industry. It’s brutal.

Yes, I said "producer" not "coder", not "artist", not "tester". Much less brutal in management.

[edit: clarification]

Not true at all in my experience. Producers/managers have very tough jobs as well.