$5M and a personal development opportunity

I was just watching a movie where the main character got given $5 million dollars.

If this happens to me, this is what I would do with it:

1. Sell our place and buy a townhouse in the same neighbourhood with a courtyard;

2. Work less in my day job (and invite Sam to do the same) but I will still do what I have been doing*, as well as a few board positions;

3. Spend the time I freed up in writing (with the aim of getting published), as well as other activities that will help me improve myself and become a better and more balanced person;

4. Invest the remaining money. By my calculation, I should get at least $150K to $200K before-tax per year without even eating into the capital, so I would devise a budget that will accommodate our lifestyle, as well as set aside an amount from this annual income that will be donated for charitable purposes every year; and

5. Spend 2-3 months every year travelling.

*The qualification is how my work would respond if I ask to reduce my work hours, which brings me to something that has been weighing me down.

This happened over the last few days at work and I am still reeling from it. It all started when I was challenged by a colleague who was renowned for his passive aggressiveness. He sent me an email saying that he wanted to see me 'when [you] have time' about something, so I responded after checking my calendar that I had some time next Thursday. Then he sent me something to look at and added "Perhaps you could fit it in before next Thursday".

This guy is known for his sarcasm but, for some reason, this really got to me, probably because I just had a huge week (which was evidenced by the record level amount of billings I did last month) and it was not fair for him to ask me to get back to him when I had time and then implied in a separate unrelated matter that I made myself out to be too busy. I was both upset and distressed by his snide comment, even though I responded very respectfully and without spite (I don't believe in fighting fire with fire - which usually means someone will get burned, which is totally unnecessary in my books).

I shared this with one of my trusted workmates and she told me that she just had a conversation with another person in the office, who implied that I and my colleague who co-managed the team had a bit of reputation of being independent from the rest of the office. She told me that the person said he hardly knew us (most probably because I am not that sociable at work and don't necessarily see the need to be so) and when he referred to me, he said that all he knew about me was that I was a 'little gay man' and he didn't know how to get to know me apart from talking to me about lady gaga (WTF?!?).

I didn't expect anything less from this person - he has a reputation for being an arrogant so and so and he likes to lob grenades to stir people up. While I try not to let this bother me, there is a part of me that feels something negative for being reduced to something that is a small part of who I am. In the end, his comments were not directed at me (albeit about me to another person), so I am trying very hard to ignore it.

Despite how resilient I think I am and the poker face I can generally muster up, for some reason, all these happenings hurt and I am trying very hard to re-balance myself.  I don't want to let someone else's fear elicit a fear response in me. I want to rise above it and not let it disturb my peace.

But if I do have that $5 million at my disposal, I think I would be more inclined to confront them in a much firmer way than trying to remain civil and respectful. After all, I could stand firm without fearing that if this escalates to an uncomfortable situation (because the guy could argue that I am being subordinate because he manages my division as a whole, so I am answerable to him in the whole scheme of things), I wouldn't have to worry about the discussion devolving to me leaving my job. How satisfying would it be to say, "I make you a lot of money for you every year and the way you treat me is unfair, petty, and mean-spirited and I don't want to come here anymore" and watch him squirm (he would then have to explain to our CEO why I left, which could open a can of worms for him).

I still feel reasonably healthy in the way I am responding to the situation so far. I keep telling myself that this is a learning experience for personal development and I need to work through this as a personal challenge but that doesn't mean I am not feeling the emotions that have been generated inside me.