What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

I have always envied those people who seem to instinctively know what they “want to be when they grow up”. The ones who from a very early age know the direction they want to head. They have identified that they will follow a professional path. Perhaps be a vet. Or a doctor. Lawyers and teachers always seemed to be a popular choice. Bizarrely, some also thought that looking deep in the recesses of peoples mouths, extracting rotting teeth was something they could see themselves doing 5 days a week, for the rest of their working lives. 

And then there were the more creative types. Aspiring painters, chefs, and dancers. Kids who would relish the visits to museums. Spend hours looking at paintings and getting inspired. Maybe you were in class with a poet. Someone who just knew they would spend their life writing, regardless of how much (or how little) future income this would guarantee them. They would be a tortured artist. Living for their art. Their creations. And not fall prey prey to the whims of the materialistic, capitalistic society they were growing up in.

This left a third group. The group that I have always been in. Sitting here, the wrong side of my 40s, still trying to work out what I want to be when (if) I grow up. When I left school, and started work, it was still in the days of “get a good job in an office and you will be set for life.” Toil every day, for 40 years, and you will be rewarded at retirement with a gold clock and a pension.

Starting Out

So, this is what I did. Starting at the local building society. And for many years, this worked for me. I enjoyed life. I had an income that allowed me to buy my first car, a light brown T reg Ford Escort MKII (which will mean absolutely nothing to younger readers.) I loved that car. And we had many adventures together until I started feeling the first pull of the material world we live in, and I decided I needed a better car. Whether it was better or not is debatable as I traded the characterful Ford Escort for a banana yellow Mini Metro. For this, I lay most of the blame at my late father’s door. Receiving a phone call at the local snooker club.

“Son, I have found a beauty of a car for you. Let’s go to Dews garage in Brighouse and I will show you.”

He was so excited with his find that I was too polite to say that driving a banana around town would be bad for my street cred. And to be fair, I did grow to love that car too.

The Genesis

Anyway, I digress. Having a sensible job allowed me these freedoms. And I did move around different departments over the years so it was always interesting. Until it wasn’t. Or at least, until I discovered that there was a world outside Yorkshire. I know. Imagine! And on one life changing lunch break, myself and a colleague, who has become a lifelong friend, asked each other, “should we go travelling?”

This was my entry into long term travel, and I have been addicted ever since. That first year spent backpacking around Australia ensured that I would have permanent wanderlust, and always yearn to be having new adventures. 

Work has allowed me to continue travelling, and I have seen some beautiful parts of the world. But, I have always felt that I have had to make a Faustian pact to continue my travels. Selling my soul to the corporate monster to fund my adventures. Being cooped up in an office all day. Attending meetings that could well have been an email. Dealing with office politics. All so that I could receive my next pay packet, and plan my next trip.

The Accidental Project Manager

Over the years I have fallen into new careers. Often quite by accident, rather than design. Thanks to a friend taking a chance on me at 30, I got a break in IT, as a trainee. A little old to be a trainee, people thought. But this was a stepping stone to what eventually became a very successful career as an IT Project Manager.

Much later in life, working as a contract Project Manager with a client who brought in an outside consultancy was my introduction to something strange called “agile”, and subsequently a new career as a coach and consultant. Working with organisations and teams in improving how they work together and the cultures they work in.

And yet, as much as I enjoy my current career, working with people, I still yearn to do something I am truly passionate about, that would also allow me the means to travel.

The Future

After 30 years of work, my priorities have shifted. The work itself is less important to me. The lifestyle I want to lead is the priority. A lifestyle that affords more time for my creative outlets, and for enjoying what I feel is truly important in life, which is time with loved ones. Time alone for reflection. Time outdoors to savour this beautiful world we live in.

I don’t know what the autumn of my career will look like. I imagine putting together a portfolio of interests. Each with a small income stream. Whichever path I take I will probably still be searching for the elusive answer to “what do I want to be when I grow up”.