Written while travelling from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh’s Waverly Station

When I was in college I wanted to be an international business man. I had grand visions of travelling the globe; jetting around from metropolis to metropolis. In my visions, I was never inside an office, but at the hot event of that month. Carnival in Rio, Hogmanay in Edinburgh, the Running with the Bulls in Pamplona, the film festival in Cannes, F1 in Monaco.

The problem with these grand visions was the absence of an ounce of work in-between. In my imagination, 100% of my time was having fun. The reality is – for my friends who do travel around the world for work – they don’t have much time to enjoy it. They are always working; never playing. I would be so disappointed if I attained that life just to sit inside an office all day – looking out the window at the potential experiences I can’t enjoy.

A picture of sheep from the train

This brings me to my dilemma – what will be satisfying for me? I love travelling, but I couldn’t travel all my life. I used to want to make tons of money and, before forty, retire and travel the world. But, just like the idea of being an international business man, I know that life of travel is unrealistic and would lead to complacency and, eventually, boredom. I need to work and to be challenged, or else my brain will turn to mush and I will be living a hopeless life.

On the other hand, if I worked my entire life – constantly challenging myself and taking no time to enjoy this world with the people I love – I’ll be miserable. So, where is the balance? Where does the satisfaction lie?

I think 99% of people fall between this extreme of attaining the need not to work anymore, and the need to feel challenged and to have a purpose and a job in society. We see this with retirees who work their entire lives to get to the point they can retire, just to go back and consult after retiring.

Passed through this Scottish town on the way to Edinburgh.

Of course, there are those who could care less about providing a job to society, and are fine never working again a day in their lives. I just think that most people who believe that is what they want, quickly realize it’s only temporary – they can’t create a satisfying life out of playing.

In the end, I think for many people (including myself) what we are really searching for is the idea of independence. We want the ability to do what we want, when we want, and not have the constraint of money holding us down like gravity. This doesn’t necessarily mean we will sign-out and travel the world; it’s just nice to have the option.

So, think to yourself if you will truly be happy when you achieve wealth and prosperity.  Are you dreaming and chasing the idea of wealth and prosperity, or, are really chasing the dream of independence and freedom from the constraints of money inside our society.

I think many of us will decide it’s the latter, rather than the former.

I’m arriving soon to Edinburgh…so until next time!  Thanks for reading this article Penned from the Train!