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There was a very bright spark at school, call him Max. Last time I heard, he was installing satellite dishes for the BBC on top of the Baghdad Hilton, during the Iraq War.
Max didn’t want to be a doctor or a lawyer, like all the other boys in our class. So instead he got a job avoiding American cruise missiles.
I get it, Max didn’t want an “ordinary life”, and so he did a great job of not getting one. Great stuff. Very cool.
But… was it worth it?
For one thing, we are social primates, which means we’ve been hardwired to get our happiness and “real meaning" from boring ol’ timeless things like love, relationships, and children. It’s hard to read your kids a bedtime story, while you’re busy dying at 28,000 feet on Mount Everest or being eaten alive by crocodiles in Africa.
That being said, the last thing you want when you reach old age is to be haunted by regret, so while you’re young you might as well have a go, just like my friend Max.
As with everything else, it’s all about knowing yourself, and following the path you’re on for the right reasons.
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