Reflective mood

Reading this put me in kind of a reflective and philosophical mood. Only a few days ago, I had a conversation with a friend, wherein he remarked that life was getting too predictable and frustration was setting in. He wanted to do something, not the regular work-home-work routine. Here's how the conversation went.

Me: what is it that you want, name the something.
Him: something different, something of which we can be proud, something that gives us satisfaction that we have achieved something.
Me: as long as you can't name what it is, you can't achieve it. Inorder to achieve something, the first and foremost requirement is that you need to know what you want to achieve. Once you know that, then you can start working towards your goal.
Him: How do I know that
Me: Where do you see yourself, say 10 years from now?
Whatever it may be, it may be that you see yourself as Bill Gates' competitor or a family man with a small house and three or four kids living peacefully and comfortably.
Him: ?????

Me:  You have to be sure of that. Unless you know where to go, you can't know how to get there. First figure that out. Then gather required and relavant information. Then start off. Put in the required effort. It all depends on what you want and how much you want it, I said. You figure out the what and the how much will determine how sooner or later you'll get there.

Him: say I want to set up a company of my own, what do I need to do?
Me: Which company?
Him: Some company, may not be software company, because Im not sure this market will last for another ten years.
Me: Are you sure you will last that long? We are having this conversation now, and you may not be there tomorrow. That uncertainty will always be there. It again comes to what and how much :-).
Him: OK, a mid sized software company with, say around a 1000 employees and earning, say a 100 crore rupees a year. How should I proceed?
Me: Do the ground work. Gather information about how to setup a company and how to run it. Start slowly spending may be an hour a week or even an hour a month. Slowly get to the details. Once you have the information, take the plunge. However, that is my approach. There are people who right away jump into action. Take the approach that suits you. Once you are clear about the specifics, start working harder. It all depends on how much :-).
Him: hmmmmmmm. Its high time I started something. I'll start from today itself.

So on went the conversation for some more time, about my goals and dreams, what I want to do and how far have I reached etc etc. The one secret I didnt tell him that time was that I never had any plans, any ambitions. I have always been divided when it comes to having a goal in life. On the one hand, I feel like there's no point in having a goal in life and striving to achieve that. Live in this moment, I said to myself, enjoy the journey and forget the destination for, all the beauty and fun is in the journey only. On the other hand, a mediocre life doesnt seem worth living. Iam living and a billion other humans are living, whats the big deal? Go ahead, do something, dream big, says my mind. So, one day I go ahead two steps towards my goal, and I lay idle for 2 days, just taking in the sights and sounds and not at all caring about the future. What will happen to my life, only time will tell :-)