Aye, Aye, Cap'n

Happy 4th of July!! Stay safe, don't lose any fingers.

Julie and I will be spending part of our day today with our friend Misty doing our own little mock tri at Lake Nokomis. We'll most likely do the sprint distance and it will probably be our last chance to do one before the big day. Hopefully, the heat won't be too unbearable.

I've been thinking a lot over the last couple of years about what I want to be when I grow up. Some people are very lucky to know exactly what it is they want to do at an early age while people like me are still searching for it in their 30's or later. It's funny, if you're getting long in the tooth you probably just read that last sentence and yelled at your computer, "You're young! You're only in your 30's!" I guess it's all relative.

Anyway, I've had conversations with others who are around my age and are struggling with the same questions. As you get older, and life and all it's costs pile up - like a mortgage, car payments, family/dogs, etc - it really limits you as far as your life's work is concerned.

For instance, if I wanted to do something that may eventually pay well but at first pays very little then it's difficult to do that and still maintain our standard of living. This is where the benefit of knowing what you want to do at an early age is such an advantage.

But I'm not in that boat, that boat has sailed. I now find myself on a different boat, and I need to determine how to stay on the boat but make sure as captain that it is going in the direction that is most fulfilling. Sorry for the cheesy analogy. As a side note, I always enjoyed Cap'n Crunch as a kid, but I digress.

There are many things that interest me, some of them you could earn a living with, while others would perhaps be more considered hobbies. As an example, I'd like to learn to play an instrument - I still have an acoustic guitar in the basement - but that would be more of a hobby than something by which to pay the mortgage.

I look at my nephews and nieces - at least those old enough to be starting down this path of determining their life's work - and I'm so proud of the fact that they know what they want to do and are going after it with all they've got. And I'm also very proud of my siblings, their parents, for not discouraging them if the path they've chosen might not make them monetarily rich. They know, perhaps, that it's better to follow your dreams than the money. Now, this isn't to say that I was discouraged from doing what I wanted to do, I just didn't know what that was at the time.

Which reminds me of a study I once read about years ago, and I can't remember the exact details, but it went something like this. Playboy Magazine (there's more to it than just pictures!) did a study where they followed 200 individuals over "X" number of years to study how well they did in life. 100 of the people chose a career to get rich, 100 chose a career that was their life's passion.

The results were interesting. All of the millionaires but one came from the group that followed their dreams. They believed in what they were doing so much that the money came to them, they weren't chasing it. Of course, this doesn't mean that everyone who pursues what they love will become rich, but it will lead to a life that is rich in more ways than just money. There's a lot to be said about being happy in your work.

While all of this is interesting, it still doesn't help answer my question. What AM I going to be when I grow up? When I find the answer, I'll let you know.