Occupation: Superstar

When I was little, I wanted to be British. When we played 'make-believe', I tried so hard to put on a British accent. I don't remember ever desiring a specific profession as little children tend to do, such as princess, fireman, nurse, etc.

When you were little, did you ever think about what you wanted to be 'when you grew up'? Or rather, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Some people in this society merely have jobs, not careers. Some go to school for a specific profession, some don't go to school at all. Some people start out with a plan, and others do not. Whatever the case, plans don't always work out. But there are bills to pay and food to buy, so people take jobs wherever they can get them.

Do you enjoy what you do? Once, when I was job hunting, my father said to me, "Take any job you can get, regardless if you are happy there. If you need the money, you are not at liberty to wait for the perfect job." While I understand his viewpoint, I thought that was kind of a sad outlook on life, especially considering that my father does enjoy his job. I don't think that a person should do something that makes them unhappy.

Ideally, it would be great if everyone could do what they loved to do, and get paid for it. For some people, that might mean shopping all day, or watching movies, or eating. So, there are personal shoppers, and movie critiques, and writers for food blogs. It may not be likely, but it is possible. Some people just enjoy being famous, and they get paid for that.

Whether you have a job, or a career, the main thing is that you have to enjoy what you do. If you are not happy there, it affects your performance, and your attitude, which can affect your health, and your lifestyle.

There was recently this 'quiz' going around Facebook. Personally, I think a lot of the Facebook apps are dumb, and a waste of time. They say things like 'Which Disney Character are you most like?', or 'What type of personality are you'? This one was for which profession you should have gone into. Not, could have, would have been good at, but should have been. Does Facebook think that people will drop whatever they are doing to start a whole new career because it is what they should have gone into? yes, these quizzes are meant to be fun and playful. But even so, do you really need to look back and say, "I should have done something else with my life"?

Ironically, my friend took the quiz 4 times, and got 4 different results. Guess it all depends on how you answer the questions.

I was speaking to a lawyer recently, and the topic of college came up. He told me he had majored in accounting for his undergrad, as many people told him that it would help him for law school. He said he got straight C's, that he should have majored in English because that is the subject he is best at, that had he majored in English he might have gotten into a better law school, etc etc. Then he stressed that he is happy with where he ended up, and he doesn't regret the path that he took.

But he obviously has thought about it. Do you want to go through life thinking, 'what if'? How would my life have turned out if only I would have done....

If you have a goal, or skills, or a desire to be something, then go for it. While not everybody can afford to follow their dreams, ambition will get you far in life.

But don't look back with regrets and say "I should have been...."