It is never too late to be what you might have been.
- George Eliot (1819-1880) English Novelist
Or is it?
Well I guess the better question would be, it’s never too late to be what you might have been, but how about what you wanted to be?
Ah … there’s the rub.
I’ve wanted to be many things when I hit the proverbial “grown up”, but do we really do what we dream of doing with our lives, or just “close enough”? I’ve known some people that knew what they’ve wanted all their lives and got it. A friend of mine wanted to be a fireman since age 0 and he’s a fireman now. I also have known people that wanted to be someone and just have given up.
I wanted to be a fighter pilot when I was a kid. I sell gloves now. Badly.
I think I’ve murdered my own dreams.
My dad used to tell me aboutafriendof his who went to school to become a chemical engineer. He worked briefly in the chemical industry and then bought himself a bar in Milwaukee.
ReplyDeleteMy dad also went to flight school and learned to fly a plane. He soloed and never flew again.
My uncle - a very successful man by most standards - once told me that he'd probably have been more comfortable as a bus driver or a fireman. He has a Masters in Communications (or some such) and works for the state of Wisconsin.
My brother in law wanted to be a cop ever since he can remember. He spent years trying to make fast money fishing in Alaska, driving trucks, selling dance videos, etc. He finally settled down and took a 9-week law enforcement certification course, waded through about 7 years of "new guy" status at various crappy little dufus towns and is now a cop with a pretty good gig on Joe Pool Lake. He hates it.
On the other hand, there's Tiger Woods and Sherry Masters. Sherry knew she wanted to be a teacher, she claims, since she was four. She was the best math teacher I ever met and she seemed to really love it. However, when asked in a "Know Your Madisonian" interview that I read recently, she said that the thing she loved most is "being retired."
My point? I don't know that I have one. I like my job most days and I am marginally successful at it. If I won a million dollars tomorrow, I'd probably quit, but only because I wouldn't have to like in Texas anymore - not because I don't like it.
But I think the even the people who "love what they do" feel like you many days.
very well stated my friend. Very well.
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