I really get not wanting to do a 9-5, but on the other hand, the more I get long-term responsibilities of my own, like a child, the more I think trying to build a business of some kind is, long term, better than consulting, in terms of doing stuff on your own terms.
As you age, you get more experience, but are less able to pound out tons of code, and spend tons of time keeping up with the latest thing.
I think you've just accurately described why I'm on HN so much and why I've spent the last several years learning about startups instead of .NET 7.0
And also why I now help teams out instead of being the 18-hour code monkey. Still love coding, but you reach the natural limits of these things and have to move on. You also reach the point where you have to start thinking long-term instead of short-term.
EDIT: I'd add that I'd much rather be the guy who knows a dozen different languages and databases, has had experience in a lot of industries, and is used to working hard and saving, yadda yadda -- I'd rather be that guy looking to get into startups than the guy who took the 4-year degree, punched the clock everyday for years, trusted his company to take care of him, and is now wondering where his future went and whom to blame.
I think we pretty much agree: I think my writing is mostly to encourage younger people to think about building something rather than just going off into consulting.
As you age, you get more experience, but are less able to pound out tons of code, and spend tons of time keeping up with the latest thing.