I have often asked people, "If you could have the perfect job, (not like beach bum, a real job) what would it be?
95 out of a hundred said something else than what they were currently doing. This puzzled me. But I thought about it.
I think many people figure out what they wanna do by their late teenage years. But things being what they are, they have to take the first thing that comes along just to live & pay the bills... Then, by the time they're 40, they have so much time, etc invested in it, have a house & a housefull of furniture & kids, car payments, etc and can't afford to quit or actually DO what they always wanted to do. But not all people.
My dad's sister got divorced at age 40 and went back to school for RN and spent the later years as a baby nurse. She was an inspiration to me in that regard.
So... It seems few people get started out right in their chosen/dream careers and the years get along. When I hit my mid-life crisis at age 44, I went back in the guard and went to the wars. I figgered I couldn't afford a trophy wife, so I bought 3 motorcycles, 2 airplanes, and some guns stuff... At age 63, I figger a woman in my life would just tell me what to do/what not to do. I got it set up (finally) just how I like it. Why ruin it?
But seriously... I feel very fortunate to have experienced the things in life I wanted to, and to have the jobs I wanted to do at the time. I remember thinking, "the Army gave me this beautiful $6 million helicopter to take care of, I could hardly believe it! Then, years later, when I was doing sculpture/steelwork for Bass Pro I would wake up in the morning and COULD NOT WAIT to get to work, I was so engaged with it. Didn't make much money until I went back to the wars as a contractor, and that really made my retirement. I'm shittin in tall cotton, now.