Daily Conversation #11 — Alec Driscoll

One of Alec’s biggest goals is to be financially secure; to never have to worry about living paycheck to paycheck. I was curious because the direct question I asked was: What do you need to be a part of your career to look back and feel fulfilled?

I completely understand the aspirations to be financially secure. I think that’s what most people desire, but for Alec, it turned into not only his biggest goal, but also his biggest fear. I asked why it scared him so much.

His response was that he wanted to ensure that his family could have the most that he could give them. He wants to give his future family all that they deserve.

Family has also been one of the biggest elements of my life. I wrote two pieces on my parents (#2 and #4) and those were two that I’ll always really reflect on. My family has been one of the primary motivators for me to take care of my health and for me to aspire to a career bigger than myself. So I completely empathize with Alec wanting to have a future where he can do as much for his family as possible.

As I mentioned, I’m going to try to be more creative and not ask the same questions every time, but so far, everybody has had really cool answers to these similar questions.

I asked Alec how he hopes he’ll look back at his life at the end. He responded that he hopes to live with no regrets and when there’s opportunity, that he’ll always be able to take the leap.

I’ve not always been the most spontaneous person and everyday, I try to be better about living in the moment and taking the leap in some regard every single day. It seems that our most fun moments come from the most uncomfortable beginnings.

For Alec, he said the biggest lesson he’s learned is to trust your gut. Most of the time, how you’re feeling is accurate and he tries to live that way based on his experiences.

I also like asking people what the meaning of life is to them. Everybody has a different meaning of life, but I think the vast majority of humans have very similar principles. Alec’s meaning of life is to be happy no matter what and live everyday like it’s your last.

I asked how he actually goes about enacting that meaning. He responded, “It’s not something I’ve been all that great at, but I want to take more vacations.” So then I prodded a bit and asked how he went about enjoying his day at work and through the daily grind. He said that the primary motivator was knowing there was a light at the end of the tunnel––the paycheck––that would allow him to vacation more and enjoy those moments.

I think this is really important to consider. I know that every morning I set out to have the best day possible, but when I go to work or go study, I sometimes lose sight of the fact that every moment isn’t going to be fun.

And then I asked Alec what he would have told his younger self. He said “life isn’t as hard as you think it is. Make the most out of every situation and life figures itself out.”

I think that right there is the crucial element to enjoying the not-so-fun moments. Make the most out of it; realize that sometimes working hard isn’t going to be fun, but there’s a reason you’re doing it.

Not all those who wander are lost.

This is a J.R.R. Tolkien quote from The Hobbit. It’s a fantastic quote. I suspected Alec was going to give me a Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit quote but wasn’t sure which.

I asked how this quote related to him. He said that the path in life he’s taken hasn’t been conventional, but it hasn’t been wrong either. There’s no right path.

For the longest time, I was on the other side: I thought I was taking the conventional route to becoming a doctor, but instead, I was taking the unconventional route to becoming a biomedical engineer…or whatever I end up being.

Thanks for the talk, Alec!

I also wanted to take the time at the end of this post to do a bit of a reflection on this project. I can’t believe I’ve already talked with 11 people. Each conversation feels more natural and feels more engaged. I realize that I’m getting a bit better living my life in the moment and I feel as though I’m genuinely appreciating these opportunities. It’s a long path and I’ll never be perfect at it, but it feels as though I’m finally making progress.

I also wanted to acknowledge everybody who has taken the time to read a single one of these. Though I’m doing this as an introspective project for myself, I’ve gotten incredible feedback and it makes it exciting to pursue this for the full 30 days. It means so much to me to know that people are really enjoying these and that people are feeling so progress from them as well.

And also to the people who’ve taken the time to have these conversations, thanks so much to you, too. The experience has been invaluable.

I’m looking forward to the next couple weeks. Also looking forward to being able to look back at this a year from now and see how helpful this was for me.

Thanks again, everybody.