Let me begin by refreshing you mind…

Before days of call display, phone would ring and a complete stranger would lure you into a conversation saying he had been referred by your great aunt and she was confident that you would love what he had to show you.

Next, he would set up an appointment and arrive armed with truckloads full of product and suitcases full of sales literature. Before you knew it, you had signed up and then you were told about meeting that they are having on Saturday and that you had to attend as greatest speaker on planet was coming to town. It would be held at some hotel and oh yeah, there was a small fee to pay at door just to cover hotel costs!

Saturday, true nature of business would be revealed. First there would be some phony, wearing a wig to disguise his age, telling you about how much money he makes, how much traveling to exotic places he does, and about wonderful lifestyle he lives. You can have same, if only you are willing to do following for next five years…

Attend endless meetings, gatherings and get-togethers during week and attend seminars every Saturday or Sunday to brush up on your product knowledge and to learn from industry leaders.

When we are young it is all so simple. We know exactly what I want to "be" when we grow up.

You know what it's like: "I want to be a fireman." I want to be a ballerina." "I want to be a movie star." "I want to be a nuclear physicist specializing in embryonic schisms in post-menopausal subatomic particles."

This aspect of growing up came back to haunt me recently when reading a magazine article by someone working in television who had always wanted to be a celebrity. To paraphrase her words, "It never occurred to me that I might have to actually do anything."

Well, here I am, a fully-grown adult. Or perhaps I am no longer fully grown – I'm not sure at what age we start shrinking! But I do have a confession to make; I never knew what I wanted to "be". I knew only what I wanted to do.

What I wanted to do was design cities, urban spaces, bus routes. No, that's not true. What I really wanted to do was design maps...but most map companies want map designers to simply mimic city's existing design. Geesh, where's creativity in that?

So I was led astray, falling in love with politics instead. For a while I worked as a political aide, plotting to become King of World. Amazingly, it took only five years for reality to grind my idealistic innocence to sawdust and send me on a frantic search for a do-it-yourself lobotomy kit. (I never did get to be King of World, nor did I ever find that do-it-yourself lobotomy kit.)