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I just turned 17 and I definently want children when I am older. My answer has probably been impacted by how I was raised, but I have known that I eventually want two or three kids since I was a preschooler.My parents have had the largest impact on my decision to one day want kids. I grew up in a upper middle class family of six: mom and dad, two boys, and two girls. I'm the third child, but my older siblings are around ten years older than me, so by the time I reached high school, they had moved out to pursue a career. (This hasnt degraded our relationship as a family because they live in the same state and visit often). Regardless, I've never been without family, and family life has played a big role in shaping who I've become, even though I'm only 17. When I was two years old, my mom built a small daycare business in our house. She always had six kids to care for, plus my younger sister and I. I would wake up everyday with six friends waiting to play, and as I grew older, I'd come home and play with children with ages ranging from month old infants to toddlers. In other words, I've always had a subconscious love for kids because I grew up surrounded by them. The business has ended now, but I still enjoy interacting wirh kids when I get the opportunity.My parents have made so many sacrifices for all four of us, but I've only once, briefly, heard one of them complain. I was driving home with my father, and we were talking about where I was thinking about going to college. I said that I wanted to go to a in-state public school. He asked why and I said that these schools generally give a good education and tuition is a lot cheaper than that of a private university. I told him that I've heard my older sister complain about the burden of student loans, and that has influenced my priorities. He got kind of mad because her complaining is impacting my choice of university and therefore and my potential to succeed later in life. What I didn't know until then was that my dad had paid for most of her education, and that she was complaining about paying that smaller sum. He wasn't mad that he made that sacrifice, he was mad that her vocalized struggle was preventing me from being the best that I could be. Minutes later, he quickly apologized for his spiel, saying that he has been in her situation and that he wouldn't hesitate to pay for a college tuition for any of us, as long as we put the effort in. ((College tuition) • (4) = A lot of fancy cars that my dad would enjoy). This conversation gave me a newfound respect for my parents, and helped me understand what being a parent might be like. Parents give up more than anyone can even imagine for their child, just to watch them grow up, mature, and eventually leave their parents. As depressing as it might sound, I've yet to hear any parent say that they regret it, and that kind of love is something I want to pursue.

I have lived for a decade in the UK and a bit longer in Japan. Yes, there are many parallels between the two countries, but there are profound differences also. Here are a few.1. British society loves children. Japanese are more cooler towards them.Our family had our first son in the UK. The outpouring of support from the general community around us was very moving. People help you on the train, off the train, help you carry things, bring you clothes and items they bought for their now older children, etc. etc. The society very naturally celebrate children.Japan sees children as the parent's business and responsibility to be kept under control. If a child cries, or sneezes onto another person, some, if not all, will give the parent a (very) dirty look. Strangers treat children as if they don't exist, if they are being polite about it. It is safe to assume, no one will help you - this is one thing I am not too comfortable with being in Japan.2. British has more class distinction, Japan is relatively more uniform.Japanese pretend that showing off difference in social class as a crass thing to do. A person of wealth and status would like to pretend he is humble. British are far more happier to be exclusive from those they see as below them.Conversely, Japanese of more humble social class are actually very defiantly proud, whether deservedly or not. British counterpart would be more meek and accepting of their circumstances.3. Climate is profoundly differentJapan has a wide range of seasonal climate patterns, but generally has hotter summers, colder winters and less rain than the UK. Plus it's more mountainous. Landscape and climate has profound impact on arts and aesthetics.4. In the UK car is more of a necessity, but it's more of a luxury in JapanAlthough not as much as the US, unless you are in the middle of London, car is more or less a necessity. I believe it was Margaret Thatcher that said "A man who, beyond the age of 26, finds himself on a bus can count himself a failure." Japanese are far more happier to take the bus. It's somewhat connected to point #2.5. The UK (London) is multi ethnic, Japan (even Tokyo) isn't (at least not yet)It took a while and not without much pain and societal tension, I think UK, and London in particular, have now learned how to run a multi-ethnic society. There are so many who are not of original English stock that are successful in various industries and even in politics.Japan has some, but still very few and far in between.6. British is far more gung-ho with accumulating debt than the JapaneseThis is surely an American disease but what is it with British people and their credit cards? And the enormous amount of auto loans and other things they get into to buy relatively trivial luxurious items. As a Japanese, I don't sleep well when my net worth is negative or have a credit card balance that is older than one month.7. British sees work as a choice, Japanese sees it as an obligationIn Japan, if you don't work, you are a non person. If you work half-time, you are half a person. It's not a choice. "If you don't work, you shouldn't be eating" attitude has been in Japan since forever. Incidentally, if you work 12 hours a day, you are a person and a half. If you want to be all that you can be, pull overtime ;)Such unhealthy attitude is rarely seen in the UK beyond the square mile. And maybe in the retail sector. Work, and a career is a choice and only one of the many paths to fulfillment.8. British women work, children or otherwise. Japanese women are expected to quit once a child is on the wayThis puts a bullet proof, three inch thick glass ceiling on top of most Japanese aspiring female professionals. Due to point made in #7 and #1, child rearing does not qualify as work, and no one will bend over backwards to accommodate new mothers. And we have a population problem. Duh. Looks like someone shot the glass ceiling but the bullet ricochet into our foot.9. British has stronger higher education, Japan has stronger primary educationTokyo University is somewhere far down in the global university ranking. A sad state of affairs, but it's not surprising considering the chronic under investment and weak liberal arts tradition. Sciences are not as bad but still not an MIT or Stanford.Primary education in Japan takes a mass production and standardization approach. Individual aptitude be damned, before you get to your next grade, you WILL be able to do your subtraction. This approach will statistically create ON AVERAGE better qualified students. However, it tends to kill the top performing, unique talents. This, in turn, creates the mediocre higher education institutions because the truly exceptional talents that makes such schools work, are systematically "made average."UK system on average does not force children into molds, and lets students progress at their own pace. If you want acceleration, you pay an arm and an leg to send your children to non-state schools. Primary education is complicated maze, due to the centuries of conflicting education laws created all kinds of different schools with different teaching mechanics, which now exist on top of each other.However, those who can afford a great education, and those who have luckily located a functioning nook within the state education systems do develop into unique talent.10. Europe is much closer to the UK compared to how Asia is to Japan, not just physically.You can drive to France. Most people in continental Europe speak at least some level of English. Some Dutch even speak better English than the English. Most of Europe is within 3 hours and thanks to Ryan Air and Easy Jet plus EU unrestricted mobility, Europe is as close as ever. This allows amazing cross pollination of talent and culture. (It also made most of Europe infested with the same boring chain stores but that is another story.)You fly from Tokyo, and Korea is 2 hours away. Beijing and HK are few more hours off. Singapore is a good 7 hours flight. The experience is still VERY foreign when you get off the plane. You will still need a visa to work and that is a huge barrier to coming and going of people.

I’m in middle of my life, and about 1/3 in career. I’m 36, and have spent about 13 years actively working. Why actively - because I’ve been working since I was little over 5 year old. Thirteen years have been equally spent in India, and in Europe. And, my work has taken me across all continents, except Africa so far.Salary & IncomeI’m in Mid-Senior level in management and draw a salary of about Rs. 55 Lakhs per annum or 4.58 L/m (~US$78,000 per annum) working in a startup in India. I make an additional ~US$5000 per annum through interests from savings. I’ve no liability apart from regular credit card bills, and have a credit score above 800. I drive a Honda City (a mid-level sedan), and own a 3000 sqft apartment in upscale DLF Society in Gurgaon, the millennium city of India.My spouse brings additional 5.40 Lakhs per annum (~US$7700). So, our family income is little shy of 6 figure at about ~US$90,000.With 30% tax bracket - this comes down to about Rs. 45 LPA or Rs. 3.5 LPM (~US$67000).ExpensesAs you may have guessed from the assets I called out - I’m a person of frugal means. I spend very little on things with no long-term value. I love eating out, and spending time with friends. That’s the only expense I have personally. That is about Rs. 35000 per month (US$500). I often do spend on anonymous charities in small amounts.We travel twice a year at modest expense. And, my parents and in-laws stay over with us in equal parts for a total of about 6–8 months in a year. Rest are general household expenses, which would be about US$1000 per month. The preventive healthcare expenses have been about another US$500 per month.All in all we would be saving on an average of Rs. 1.5LPM (~US$2200).The Journey== Growing Up ==I come from a poor-to-lower-middle-class income household. My entire childhood was spent in a mud-house with a single room shared with my 3 older siblings and my parents. The other two rooms worked out as a typical mom-&-pop corner store and godown/storage. We were in middle of nowhere. That's what we could afford. The entire locality had only 3 houses back then. Today there would be about 180 families living there.My older siblings were 12, 11 and 10 years older to me and were attending public schools. Public schools in India are or atleast used to be desolate with no education standard whatsoever. Financial reasons forced my siblings to drop out of schools at 8th, 10th and 12th grade respectively, and start working to support my father in the shop.== The Teens ==I also used to do whatever little I could. And, my father used to generously give me 10 paise (US$0.001, you read that right). By the time I was 12, the godown was turned into a small pharmacy. I started getting Rs. 2/day (US$0.03) for spending 2 hours of my evening supporting at the shop.By the age of 14, I was able to manage the pharmacy on my own at weeks stretch. This helped my elder brother take time off post his wedding, and I ended up manning the pharmacy for quite some time.== Becoming an Adult (and Dropping out of school) ==At the age of 18, I dropped out of school - and doubled down on business. ‘Tops’ was a new brand of ketchup, and my elder brother helped me get a distributor deal for that. My father put the initial capital needed, a massive sum of couple of lakhs (grands in US$ terms).But, as Alok Kejriwal once said while speaking to Vishal Gondal on his podcast, that every Marwari father gives a couple of lakhs to his son to lose as he enters business[1][1][1][1], that’s what happened. I ended up burning the business down.I had no clue how to manage P&L, customer satisfaction or hiring. Much of the failure was due to hiring wrong people, not doing things myself and trusting too much on other early on in the business. (Learning - when setting up, manage things yourself esp. selling unless you find the product-market fit).== Failure and going back to books ==I gave up. I thought, I’m not cut out for Business. I’ve never been a finisher in life just like Taekwondo at 10, Sketch & Painting at 11, Drama and Theatre at 12, Volleyball at 14 and so on, my tryst with Business lasted just over 12 months. (This was going to come in handy later on in life as you will see)Causing much of dismay to my parents - I went for engineering. Missing the JEE marginally, but with AIEEE as the new boy in town (eqv. to SATs in the US), I was able get something. Not wanting to waste another year, I took admission in BIT-Mesra, another Tier-I Semi-Private deemed university in the capital city of the state of Jharkhand, India.[ In pic: BIT-Mesra, Main Building [2][2][2][2]]== The Engineering ==Still on the momentum, first year started out well. But, the motivation withered down as I entered the 2nd year. In just two semesters, I fell from top performer of the class to below average. I was barely scraping through.But, as I had never been a good finishing things, I had ended up trying a lot of stuffs. And, that gave me a good all round exposure. I was jack of all trades. Which helped me get through the internships. One of the 12 out of a batch of 500 to get an internship.[ In pic: Park Street, Kolkata ; Src: Web ]It didn’t pay well though - Rs. 5000 per month (~US$100) for a two month long arduous stint. The fact that it was in Kolkata, a city in eastern part of India, made it worse. That was the worst experience ever until then, and even until today. It was one of the companies “Dream Tagged” on campus. And, when the company offered PPO (pre-placement offer), I declined. I was open to take my chances with placements.I passed on the big-whigs in consultancy and accounting which were paying atleast double. And, I was not the best in anything - couldn’t cut through the MS or other tech heavy ones. Being pretty adamant on making in a career in telecommunication, I ended up with the only company that was somewhat close. Aricent Inc. (Today - Altran[3][3][3][3] , and back then it was Flextronics[4][4][4][4]).[ In pic: One of Aricent Group’s building in Sector 18, Gurgaon ; Src: Web ]== Starting Out ==With a meagre salary of Rs. 24,500 per month after taxes (~US$350 per month), I was barely able to make ends meet in one of the most expensive cities in India, Gurgaon the millenium city.[ In pic: Gurgaon Sky Line ; Src: Web ]I was sharing a 200 sqft. room with two of my colleagues on the top floor of a house in one of the oldest localities in the city. Given that three single beds took away almost 90% of the floor space, the room used to end even before before it started.It was depressing. Going to work was hanging on to a three wheeled rickshaw, squeezed in with another 15 people onboard. Weekend travel to malls or movies was no different.[ In pic: Auto on the Streets of Gurgaon ; Src: Web ]People who have read up until here know that I have had humble or below the means childhood. But, this was multi-notch lower than the life my parents gave me. Never ever I had struggled so much to make my ends meet.== Restlessness and Leap of Faith ==I was restless to get out of the misery. Getting a 8% increment over the meagre salary, and no promotion even after being the star performer for two straight years made it much worse. In less than 2 years all my friends who started out with me, went for further studies. Some went for MBA from prestigious IIMs, while others went to the US for MS.Even though many, incl. my boss told me I should go for an MBA (somehow they were seeing something which I wasn’t), I was too stuck onto MS. I used to believe I hadn’t done engineering to sell soaps and combs. I was too arrogant.I had a good admit in the US. But, had no cash to support it. Or, to even get a student VISA. Tried getting a loan, but with no collateral, and economy in shambles in 2009[5][5][5][5] no bank would risk giving a loan to me[6][6][6][6] . I was disheartened, and kind of accepted my fate until one day the loneliness forced me to call my long-lost school friends.One of the friends was trying to get to Germany, as her boyfriend was there. I was intrigued that post-graduate education was literally free[7][7][7][7]in the European export powerhouse. I asked her on the process. And she suggested to checkout some of the websites. When we hung up, it was about 1:00 in the morning. By 2:00, I was browsing some of the university websites. One of them had the application deadline of yesterday. But, it was still 1.5 hours for the day to be over in Germany. I filled out the application, and in a week I had the admit letter.[ In pic: Main academy building, Ulm University, Germany ; Src: Web ]I was jubilant, and worried at the same time. Didn’t knew if it was the right decision or not. But, I thought, no matter what happens, I wouldn’t be worse off than where I was. With that, I took the leap of faith. The loan amount to support the living expenses in Europe was not small, but just enough that I could get a loan. I did and went.== Starting out on a Foreign Land ==I started looking for part time work as soon as I landed in Germany. Given that I had about 2.5 years of experience as Software Engineer, I got a part-time job in Nokia on the University campus (Nokia Technology Center, Ulm).This paid a modest €560 per month (~US$640). More than enough to cover the living expenses, and a two way ticket at the end of the year, and travel Europe.[ In pic: Nokia’s closed R&D office in Lise-Meitner-Str., Ulm [8][8][8][8]; Src: Web ]I was able to finish most of my credits in two semesters, instead of four, and tried getting an internship bundling it with thesis. I was one of the top performers in my class - which helped me convert all my applications in paid internships with prestigious Fraunhofer Institute (inventors of MP3[9][9][9][9]), to the German Aerospace Centre to name a few.[ In pic: Hawk eye view of the DLR Oberpfaffenhofen campus ; Src: Web ]With a stipend of about €1100 (~€900/$1030 post taxes) per month, I started out at German Aerospace Centre, or Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) at Oberpfaffenhofen, a small village about 30KM outside of Munich. This was an amazing experience. Got myself to develop taste for the German beer, with Augustiner being my favourite till date. Made some friends for life from all over the world.== Just when life was looking good ==By the time I had spent 6 months at DLR, I had to make a choice. What next? Do I want to continue the life as a researcher and academician and thus pursue PhD, or do I want to get back to working in industry. I did like the research bit. I liked it quite a lot. Also, I had my friends there. But, I had to think long-term.There were two things running on my mind then. First, need to cover for the wedding expense whenever that would be. And, the big-fat Indian weddings ain’t coming cheap. Second, what would be better if I decide on going back and settling down in India.With these thoughts, I decided to scale up my career in Industry. So, while I was still a student, I started looking out for a job which I can start as soon as I get my Master’s degree. I got my starting gig at, now defunct, ST-Ericsson[10][10][10][10]which was a JV between ST Microelectronics of France, and Ericsson of Sweden.At a starting salary of €45,000 per annum (~€2200/$2500 per month after taxes) this was a dream come true. With a monthly expense of about €1000, I was able to save another €1000 which was to cover my travel, parties, trip to India, and long-term expenses.[ In pic: Skyline of Nuremberg ; Src: Web ]Nuremberg, is a small town in Bavaria. I was stunned at the driverless underground metros running across the city. My first. Again, made some of the best friends for life in this city. Had a good life. Took the liking for hiking here. And partied like crazy.However, In less than a year, the company went bust, and the JV fell apart[11][11][11][11]. Ericsson took over 100% ownership, but gave us a very strict 12 month deadline to turn profitable[12][12][12][12]. We were being beaten at both ends. From customers pov., both Apple and Samsung were utmost demanding, and from competition pov., while Qualcomm was leagues ahead, Intel was poaching star colleagues and industry veterans. We didn’t survive another year[13][13][13][13].== Folding the cards of Europe ==Through my working relations at my first job at Aricent in India, I had made some good connects with the engineers on the client side, Nokia Networks (presently Nokia, formerly NSN).The day STE announced shuttering of business, I got a call from the R&D head at NSN with whom I had interviewed when I was looking for job while still a student.[ In pic: Nokia’s R&D office in Dusseldorf - now closed; Src: Web ]Nokia was going through a rough patch then with share prices falling from a peak of €30 per share in 2007 to about €1 a piece by 2012[14][14][14][14]. NSN being partly funded by Nokia, and going through it’s own cost restructuring, freezed hiring just before I was able to get a contract at hand. Rajiv Suri (who heads Nokia now) was at helm of NSN at that point of time and was able to bring the company to a momentum of growth by early 2013.[15][15][15][15] (I wish he would write a book on his turn around story, just like Louis V. Gerstner Jr. wrote one for his turn around of IBM).The turn around, and change in strategy meant they had an opening now, and would like to check if I would still consider working for Nokia Networks. Gladly I said yes. With a salary of €55,000 per annum (~€2500/$2850 per month), I moved up north-west to a bustling town of Dusseldorf, which is about 2 hour drive away from Amsterdam.[ In pic: Dusseldorf Skyline towards Mediahafen ; Src: Web ]The salary increased steadily from €55,000 previously to €74,000 in 2 years through bonuses, promotions and annual increases governed by the labour union.Life moved ahead. Got married. Almost got divorced. Made another friend for life. Backpacked the US, and travelled all over Europe. Survived kidney stones, and hypertension. Broke my leg, and hiked mountains with crutches. Sadly the three years were one of the toughest I ever had in my life.A lot went through at NSN. The Nokia and Siemens JV collapsed (Deja Vu - just like at ST-Ericsson). Nokia took 100% ownership.[16][16][16][16]Nokia on the other hand was going through its own turmoil on the sides. With Nokia’s share prices falling sharply from €30 a share to less than €7, life looked tough. And then, Nokia sold off the handset business to Microsoft[17][17][17][17]. With Networks business becoming bread and butter for the Finnish giant[18][18][18][18], Nokia Networks became the new Nokia with Rajiv Suri coming at the helm[19][19][19][19].A massive restructuring and consolidation was imminent. Nokia took a decision of consolidating the European business, bringing down the office count from 35 to about 5. Our centre was one which didn’t survive this. We were given an option to move to Ulm (my university town), or move out voluntarily.[20][20][20][20]Given my personal life was at shambles, and having lived through this earlier, and moving cities every now and then, I decided to fold my cards. I was compensated with €28,000 post taxes for relieving duty.This was also a time when I developed a lot of empathy towards underprivileged souls of the society - and hence I donated a significant amount of what I had saved until then to an organisation that feeds the poor kids all over the world.I decided to take some time off, step back and think through what I wanted to do next with my career and life. On the quest to discover myself, and what I wanted, I went backpacking to the US and Europe for next three months. Whatever money I had left, were about to be spent on this quest.[ In pic: Deep inside Czech National Park among Elbe Mountains ; Src: Web ][ In pic: Route-1 through Pacific Coast in the US ; Src: Web ]I spent weeks in middle of forests just thinking about life, and hiking through the hills. Drove the pacific coast on route-1 from south to north, spending time in San Diego, LA and SFO. Flew to Seattle. Spent over a month in NY.I met all my friends that I had made through my life (wherever I referred to making friends for life). I met a couple of strangers and spent time understanding life through their lenses. Understood the life different people lived, and how they liked or disliked those. It was an awesome journey through discovering myself. (And, I really encourage people to do that every 3–5 years). I had clarity.I came back to Germany to wrap-up. Within 30 days, I was on a one-way flight to India.== Setting up the Second Innings in India ==Post my trip to discover myself, I realised five things.The value of relationships we build through our life. As I was going through a time phase of my life - all the friends and family stood by me. Holding me up. Checking with me. Making sure I was doing alright.I cannot focus on all three at a time - Personal, Health and Career. Need to take one step at a time, and prioritise.Money is important. But, not the most important. I need to grow horizontally and drive meaning from what I do, even if that meant making hand-to-mouth salary.I was not cut-out for technical roles. I had a deeper liking towards business and management, and liked juggling multiple balls at a time.I was more empathetic than I had ever realised towards three sets of people - under-privileged kids, the ageing and old, and the poor but hard working.So, taking things at a time, decided to spend next 2–3 months at home. Spend time to look for the next job which can give me the horizontal growth - a startup. I also tried working on one in this time.I got a couple of offers from pre-seed/seed startups. But, the founders were frugal. They weren’t even paying a bare-minimum Rs. 50,000 (~$700 per month). I got another offer from the E-Commerce giant of the world at Rs. 45 LPA (US$65,000) based out of Bangalore in southern India. And, I got another offer from a Series-B funded Robotics startup at Rs. 24LPA (US$34,000), based out of Delhi-NCR in northern India.[ In pic: An artists rendering of the Gurgaon Skyline ; Src: Web ]I decided to go with later, and take a nearly 50% cut in pay for primarily two reasons. First, it was based out of Delhi-NCR, which meant I would be better connected to my family and friends I had made during the start of my career. Second, I was hoping to get the horizontal growth in an early state startup, which I felt I wouldn’t get in a scaled up enterprise.With that - I made my first large purchase, the car that I spoke about earlier. At Rs. 15,00,000 (~$22,000) that was the biggest spend I did until I bought the apartment two years later. It took me almost a year to pay back the loan on the car. A huge lesson I am going to carry for life.Personal life got back on track. Parents started spending time with me. In-laws started getting on good terms. On the career front, I finally decided to get an MBA. Finally was able to see in myself what others did over a decade ago. Finishing that top of my class with a gold-medal, I saw my parents cry with pride for the first time.And, oh-boy I grew. In the next two and a half years, I became an altogether a different person in terms of business and personal life.While I focussed on personal life and career/growth in meaningful sense, health took a back-seat. I underwent three surgeries. And gained about 20 Kgs (~40 pounds) in the 2.5 years. It was time to fix that.== Unsettling down ==I loved my work. The company. The people there. It was one of the places were people had deeper relationships. That is what led me to wake up every morning.However, as we scaled from 80 people to 600+ in 2.5 years, the culture suffered. That deeper relationship and meaning was lost. With leadership development programs not yet there, the organisation outgrew us. Laterals had to be brought in to manage and scale organisation. The new blood were more transactional, and their own career graph became more important than the larger good for the company, and its employees. Waking up in the morning started becoming hard. Plus, I wanted to grow at the same pace as the firm itself. I wasn’t able to. I realised that life needed significant changes, and decided to move on.By this time I was making around Rs. 35 LPA (~$50,000 pa), and had about $15000 worth of non-vested ESOP. The move got me to a leadership position in one of the fastest growing startup Unicorn of India. I was able to negotiate about 43% in salary, and a significant amount in ESOP. This brought me to Rs. 50 LPA (~$71,500 pa).In the mean time, we moved into our new apartment about 20 KMs outside of the city. It was a choice to bring some peace and nature in life. Started pushing myself on health - with normal jogs, and eating healthy. Cut out alchohol and junk completely. After 5 months, I was able to shed about 15 Kgs (~30 pounds), got my hypertension to normal, and was running 5K under 35 minutes on daily basis.Never felt better.Where I’m standing today - Happiness?Even though I had been a star performer in the first year, the increment I got was minuscle 10% which brought me to where I’m today - Rs. 55 LPA (~$78,000). But, to be honest, I do not mind. Since, I had time to discover myself through my backpacking trip to the US and Europe, money hasn’t been making to the top of my needs. It’s been almost half a decade now. I think I have enough now.That happiness that we all feel comes with Money - it isn’t there.I do not like the job I have. I do not see how am I adding any value to the world by doing what I am doing today. I do not associate myself with that. That deeper connect that I have talking all along - is missing.Lately, since over 6 months now, I have been thinking a lot more on the second than I imagined I would ever do. I think we have enough. It’s time to work on empathy. Work on something for the greater good of society.Money is important, because it gives us freedom. Freedom from the constraints of daily life. Freedom to decide to not work for couple of months or a year if it comes to that. Freedom to travel. Freedom to support my parents. Freedom to do what I want. But, beyond that point, money has no incremental value. Atleast not a large one.So, do I have enough - Yes. Am I satisfied - Yes. Am I happy - No. I think it’s time to shift gears. It’s time to be of some value to the world, and work on something for the greater good of the society. Time to work for a purpose. Otherwise - no salary has any meaning.Some people are downvoting and reporting the answer citing non-believability of the answer or citing it as fake. To be honest, I do not expect you to believe that either. Sometimes I do not believe what I’ve gone through as well. But, that doesn’t make things untrue.There are too many personal details, both in terms of professional and personal. I can’t risk that esp. at the stage of life I’m in. So, I had two choices - either to not write at all, or write with anonymity.I don’t expect some of you to understand. But, what I have learnt in life is to learn from mistakes of others. If you don’t want to do that. Very well. Let others do, by not downvoting or reporting it. You may very well stop reading, if you seldom believe anonymous answers are fake. That’s all is my request.Rest is upto Quora moderators. I have sent them my request, and asked them to validate through my LinkedIn profile. I assume they will, and unmark the answer. The fact that you are reading this line only implies that they have corroborated the details shared. So, with that request - I close the answer.Answering some of the comments here (not sure why so many comments have been collapsed)Rutva Shah - I haven’t seen the entire life yet, but of whatever I’ve seen, I can tell you one thing, Jack of all Trades will always do well in life. A kid with average interest in education, and extreme in sports - will always do well in life. Strategy is everything. Thinking on your toes is everything. Navigating other’s thought process is everything. Storytelling to make your point across is everything. That’s what matters in life. What have we done by knowing how many states are there in India or in the US? We could have as well googled them now?Rubina Hussain - Thank you going on my journey. Gives me a confidence that this can be extrapolated into something bigger. :)Anushri Srivastava - Life is full of surprises, and ups-and-downs. And this is just one of the pieces (career/job). There are many others. We all need to be cognisant of what’s happening, take a step back and take a stock from things around. That’s what real learning is.Saurabh Agrawal - It had to be. I did try and share a “nobody’s story”. Hope we all can find the extraordinary in all our ordinary lives. This is the story of each of our lives. The lives of “the middle”. And, well. Also, there are some numbers which ethically needs to be concealed.User-11523802556407302358 - Just because you don’t believe it, doesn’t mean it’s untrue. If you have trouble believing anonymous answers, I would suggest you stop reading them. There is no point downvoting and reporting it. There are too many personal details in the answer, and I cannot go public with that. I think there is not so much you have seen in life yet. But, that’s just my presumption. Hope life doesn’t teach you things and make believe them the hard way. Cheers.Footnotes[1] S03 E01: Alok Kejriwal — IVM Podcasts - Indian Podcasts for you to listen to[1] S03 E01: Alok Kejriwal — IVM Podcasts - Indian Podcasts for you to listen to[1] S03 E01: Alok Kejriwal — IVM Podcasts - Indian Podcasts for you to listen to[1] S03 E01: Alok Kejriwal — IVM Podcasts - Indian Podcasts for you to listen to[2] Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra - Wikipedia[2] Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra - Wikipedia[2] Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra - Wikipedia[2] Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra - Wikipedia[3] ALTRAN TECHNOLOGIES : Aricent to become Altran[3] ALTRAN TECHNOLOGIES : Aricent to become Altran[3] ALTRAN TECHNOLOGIES : Aricent to become Altran[3] ALTRAN TECHNOLOGIES : Aricent to become Altran[4] Flextronics spin-off goes private as Aricent[4] Flextronics spin-off goes private as Aricent[4] Flextronics spin-off goes private as Aricent[4] Flextronics spin-off goes private as Aricent[5] Financial crisis: Impact on India[5] Financial crisis: Impact on India[5] Financial crisis: Impact on India[5] Financial crisis: Impact on India[6] http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/74744/9/09_chapter2.pdf[6] http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/74744/9/09_chapter2.pdf[6] http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/74744/9/09_chapter2.pdf[6] http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/74744/9/09_chapter2.pdf[7] Study in Germany for free: What you need to know[7] Study in Germany for free: What you need to know[7] Study in Germany for free: What you need to know[7] Study in Germany for free: What you need to know[8] Nokia to Cut 10,000 Jobs and Close 3 Facilities[8] Nokia to Cut 10,000 Jobs and Close 3 Facilities[8] Nokia to Cut 10,000 Jobs and Close 3 Facilities[8] Nokia to Cut 10,000 Jobs and Close 3 Facilities[9] The mp3 History[9] The mp3 History[9] The mp3 History[9] The mp3 History[10] ST-Ericsson - Wikipedia[10] ST-Ericsson - Wikipedia[10] ST-Ericsson - Wikipedia[10] ST-Ericsson - Wikipedia[11] STMicro to quit ST-Ericsson mobile chip venture[11] STMicro to quit ST-Ericsson mobile chip venture[11] STMicro to quit ST-Ericsson mobile chip venture[11] STMicro to quit ST-Ericsson mobile chip venture[12] Ericsson to take $1.2 billion charge on ST-Ericsson stake[12] Ericsson to take $1.2 billion charge on ST-Ericsson stake[12] Ericsson to take $1.2 billion charge on ST-Ericsson stake[12] Ericsson to take $1.2 billion charge on ST-Ericsson stake[13] ST-Ericsson to lose 1,600 jobs[13] ST-Ericsson to lose 1,600 jobs[13] ST-Ericsson to lose 1,600 jobs[13] ST-Ericsson to lose 1,600 jobs[14] Nokia: Rise and fall of a mobile giant[14] Nokia: Rise and fall of a mobile giant[14] Nokia: Rise and fall of a mobile giant[14] Nokia: Rise and fall of a mobile giant[15] Turnaround has resulted in PE interest: Rajeev Suri, CEO, Nokia Siemens[15] Turnaround has resulted in PE interest: Rajeev Suri, CEO, Nokia Siemens[15] Turnaround has resulted in PE interest: Rajeev Suri, CEO, Nokia Siemens[15] Turnaround has resulted in PE interest: Rajeev Suri, CEO, Nokia Siemens[16] Nokia buys out Siemens to take control of networks business[16] Nokia buys out Siemens to take control of networks business[16] Nokia buys out Siemens to take control of networks business[16] Nokia buys out Siemens to take control of networks business[17] Nokia Sells Handset Business To Microsoft At A Shockingly Low Price[17] Nokia Sells Handset Business To Microsoft At A Shockingly Low Price[17] Nokia Sells Handset Business To Microsoft At A Shockingly Low Price[17] Nokia Sells Handset Business To Microsoft At A Shockingly Low Price[18] Reprogramming Nokia - Comeback Kids: Successful Turnaround Stories[18] Reprogramming Nokia - Comeback Kids: Successful Turnaround Stories[18] Reprogramming Nokia - Comeback Kids: Successful Turnaround Stories[18] Reprogramming Nokia - Comeback Kids: Successful Turnaround Stories[19] With Microsoft Deal Done, Nokia Names Rajeev Suri CEO, $6.9 Billion in Buybacks, Dividends and Debt Cuts[19] With Microsoft Deal Done, Nokia Names Rajeev Suri CEO, $6.9 Billion in Buybacks, Dividends and Debt Cuts[19] With Microsoft Deal Done, Nokia Names Rajeev Suri CEO, $6.9 Billion in Buybacks, Dividends and Debt Cuts[19] With Microsoft Deal Done, Nokia Names Rajeev Suri CEO, $6.9 Billion in Buybacks, Dividends and Debt Cuts[20] Nokia axing thousands of jobs across Germany and Finland[20] Nokia axing thousands of jobs across Germany and Finland[20] Nokia axing thousands of jobs across Germany and Finland[20] Nokia axing thousands of jobs across Germany and Finland