I don't know about you, but I've reached a point in my life where I just don't want to abide by the 9 to 5 routine (technically, 8:30 to 5:30). I don't want to have to get up in the morning before the alarm goes off at 7. I don't want to have a rushed shower and cereal for breakfast five days of the week. I, especially, don't want to have to drive, or sit on the passenger side of the car, when it's raining in the mornings and evenings. It's not that the work I do isn't challenging. Or that I don't get appreciated by my peers and supervisors. But I have become increasingly impatient with all the rustiness in the system -- not just in this job but every job I've had in the last decade ... The time it takes for good ideas to translate to something usable. The lack of urgency and respect for deadlines. The need to constantly educate clients on the same issues over and over. I find myself wondering, what's the point? Not every day, but sometimes it's hard to see the value of what I am doing. Don't get me wrong. I love writing. I love acquiring new media skills. I thoroughly enjoy the academic environment and the expansion of my gray cells owing to excellent faculty-student interactions. I don't look at the clock for it to turn 5. I still give my all to everyone I interact with and everything I do. But is this really all I want to do? Or can I put my skills to better use -- and by "better use" I don't mean another (or better paying) 9-5 desk job. I want to travel the world. Meet new people. See new things. I want to visit at least a 100 countries before I die. I want to write for myself. I want to be able to express myself freely without being tied to any agenda, strategic plan, or campaign. (A book contract would be nice!) I want to be so much more than I am -- not in terms of a professional title, but as a person. And I want to start before wasting any more time. Perhaps, this is a sure-shot way to get my career graph squashed. Perhaps, voicing this urge -- this unrequited want -- isn't the smartest use of this platform. But I want to know if there are more people in their mid-30s like me -- folks who don't want to wait until they're 50 or 60 before chasing their dreams; talented men and women who are bored of a conventional routine; bright young people who secretly desire to break the mold; techies, nerds, accountants, designers, who yearn for something more... Do you understand what I am saying? Do you "get" my discontentment? Do you feel trapped in a blanket of security like I do? Do you itch to get out of your comfort zone but don't know how? Or, have you been there, done that and survived to tell a tale of personal success/utter failure? Talk to me.