As friends of mine were describing our (while I was in/part of it) "race for money", in the US, compared to all of them, spread throughout Europe: "You [US] guys work hard, just to die rich, while we work enough to enjoy life".
Once I pulled the trigger to FIRE (still too late to what I should have done, should I have been more focused on this, years ago) life truly became a wonder to appreciate every minute of every hour of every day.