What if at 16 you were given a second shot at life to be truly happy?

At 16 I knew what I wanted out of life on the grand scheme of things and ultimately not much has changed from that dream. But I asked myself the question; If I was 16 again, and, like a bee, I was given one chance to chose the “occupation” that would stay with me for life, what would I have picked?

I’d comfortably argue that 98% of kids, when growing up, even though many parents would tell their kids they “can be anything they truly want to be” at some point settle for a job or career just because.

At large when I was 16 success looked like a large property portfolio and an options and shares portfolio with income generated from it funding a lifestyle. Every 16 year olds dream in the mid 2000's right? [insert sarcasm here]. Rather than attend high school house parties and hang out on weekends with friends I was off attending seminars about wealth creation. But some where along the lines I still followed the path of a job because that’s what I was taught was the first way to make money. Had I have been taught that a lemonade stand was an equally as good a way I have no doubt I would of chosen that path first.

Nowadays the end goal is still the same in essence – freedom to do what I want with my family but it has to be combined with some form of contributive project or business that gives back and keeps me fulfilled. I think that desire just comes from nearly 15 years more life experience.

But if I had the chance to be 16 again, looking into the future wondering what I would chose to do each and every day to truly make me happy while making money, I ask myself, would I have chosen to start a self defence business like I did? Would I have chosen to build a professional photography business like I had? Would I have chosen to spend 5 years at university to be a scientist like I have been for the last few years? Or Would I have spent 4 years in corporate sales like I settled for when closing out my first business venture? Probably not. If I had one chance to pick one career for life, after pondering on the idea, I though about the following;

Inventor

It seems to be the answer to a lot of the questions I have around finding what really keeps me stimulated. I build businesses because I get to create and innovate, grow in spite of challenges, contribute and reap the ROIs; much like inventing. I systemise processes and model systems, creating a solution from scratch or very little foundation; much like inventing. I feed off the energy of speaking in front of large crowds, about what I’ve discovered and what solutions I have devised; much like inventing. As a kid I pulled about broken toys and rebuilt them into anything from a pair of night vision goggles to a bedside lighting box or a radio; inventing. As a teenager I learned code for web design, built pages for businesses, from scratch, providing a solution to problems in both the short and long term; much like inventing.

When I think about it more I can see why I launched my blog – it’s the perfect outlet to invent a brand, tell a story, share lessons and show a life being invented. And I think at the core of it, inventing is creating something unique, innovative, different, often from nothing… much like life. Kind of makes me feel like I’m still on the right track on the grand scheme of things after all.

What do you still want to be when you grow up?

Ivan.