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It has to be one of the biggest fabrications we instil into our children: what do you want to be when you grow up?” We ask this question relentlessly, and one can be sure that grandparents and loving aunts will similarly badger our offspring about their future plans too.

But when do we every really grow up?

Only the other day a prominent Conservative blogger demanded that I should “grow up,” and maybe he has a point. As someone whose day job is a thoroughly unrewarding career in finance, I do regularly ask… what do I want to be when I grow up?

Reading across the blogosphere it’s increasingly apparent that many, many fellow bloggers feel just as directionless, and that their talents are wasted. I suppose this disillusionment has its roots in consumerism and our education system. Kids go through school being told that they can be anything they want to be, and they base their subject choices on dreams rather than making pragmatic decisions based on market opportunities.

Few kids choose to be engineers; yet working in construction or in industrial design is one of the most rewarding careers out there. When every teenager dreams of being a journalist or a TV presenter, it’s no wonder so many are disappointed when they end up selling ad space in The Wilbury Chronicle or processing invoices for Widget Inc. This is one of the reasons why so people in the UK define themselves as unhappy.

It is because of this that I admire America and Americans themselves. They genuinely have a can-do attitude and are prepared to work to achieve their dreams. In Europe we do suffer the canker of dependency. Too many people just sit and wait for someone else to knock on their door with an envelope containing their dreams. It just doesn’t happen.

This is why I’m in process of taking several risks. I am involved in a couple of projects that, if they come off, will ensure I don’t have to endure the drudgery of the nine-to-five for much longer. It’ll be hard work and no doubt this blog will suffer, but it’s something that I feel I must do. I’m 29 tomorrow and I have already had one mid-life-crisis under my belt – I don’t want another!

There is no use waiting. If you act like a sheep, then you’re a sheep. Opportunities do exist, but they can also be created. Be a creator. Decide what you want to achieve. Write it down and determine what you need to do to make it happen. Not everything can be achieved. It would be rather silly, if I decided to take on Pepsi and Coca-Cola by making cola-based soft drinks in my garage. So settle on something possible yet rewarding. Every moment you’re not working for yourself, you’re working for someone else. Now isn’t that silly?

On Saturday our little boy is two, and landmark dates always make me ponder the future. What will the little scamp do? Will he go to university? Will it be here in the UK or will he, as his mother would no doubt prefer, study in Russia? What will he study? And where will he live? It makes little difference to me. I’m apprehensive about the next 30-years, so as long as he’s safe, I’ll be happy. But I do wonder…

I have an idea! As soon as he’s old enough, I’ll ask him what he wants to be when he grows up?