In 1958, many years before he became famous as the author of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", and at the age of just 20, Hunter S Thompson wrote a long letter in reply to a friend who had contacted him asking for advice as to the direction his life should take.
This is an extract.
"As I said, to put our faith in tangible goals would seem to be, at best, unwise. So we do not strive to be firemen, we do not strive to be bankers, nor policemen, nor doctors. We strive to be ourselves.
But don't misunderstand me. I don't mean that we can't be firemen, bankers, or doctors - but that we must make the goal conform to the individual, rather than make the individual conform to the goal. In every man, heredity and environment have combined to produce a creature of certain abilities and desires - including a deeply ingrained need to function in such a way that his life will be meaningful. A man has to be something; he has to matter."
An excellent extract from an excellent letter from an excellent book.