If You Could Do Anything You Wanted for Living

Recently, during a lunch-hour TRX training session, the trainer asked me what I do for a living.

Me - "I'm a CPA. I do accounting for a local real estate development company."
Trainer - "Do you like it? Does it keep you busy?"
Me (despondently (trying to smile as I said it)) - "It keeps me too busy. It's actually pretty ridiculous just how much work there is."
Trainer - "If you could do anything you wanted for a living, would it be what you're doing now?"
Me (thinking, then speaking) - ...should I be honest, or should I give the canned "Sure, it pays the bills...almost" response? ...but instead, "It sounds cheesy, but I love animals and would have loved to have done anything related to animals...be a wildlife photographer or something like that."

I've had many versions of this conversation with various people over the past several years.

My answers have varied:

• "I would do something that makes me feel like I'm making a difference in the world."
• "I think I would've been a great nurse--a three or four day work week would be amazing! Then again, I had back surgery two weeks before my 30th birthday and being on my feet all day might have been a problem back then."
• "I just want a job that ends at the end of each day...that I can't take home with me...or doesn't pile up if/when I ever take a vacation."
• "I just want to work 40 hours a week...spend more than an hour or two with my son each day."
• "That's a great question."

One thing I do know: Ask anyone who knew me when I was young(er) what they thought I'd be doing now and I can guarantee that not one of them would say "working a corporate desk job".

Mid-life? Definitely.  Crisis? The jury's out.