You know what, the message that I am hearing from you is that you want to be in control of your work, in control of your time and know that what you are doing i

You know what, the message that I am hearing from you is that you want to be in control of your work, in control of your time and know that what you are doing is meaningful. A person that runs a cleaning service with 5 or 6 employees gets all of that. The question then may not be so much about having something to be totally in love with. We all have to be practical. As long as you like what you are doing and you are in a position that gives you that control from doing it, that might be enough. I can't say that I'm totally passionate about what I do, but I gave up on finding my "passion". I have marketable skills and I am leveraging it. I was a full time employee of a Fortune 500 software company and then I became a full time contractor. I am loving that aspect of it. I am more in control of my work, I don't fully control my time but if I don't put in a 7.5 hour day or take a day off here or there, no one is on my back. Personally for me the next logical step is to build a business so that I am able to get even more in control (ie move away from having my income depending on hours). So, what can you do now that can bring you closer to giving you that control? If you are full time, can you go contract? I'm not talking freelancing but instead doing the full 40 hour week but getting paid hourly. If you are already doing that, then the next step is to just save and save money. The way older people can somewhat make up for the advantages of youth is to have a large runway. Having $100K to $200K that you can live on and spend on your business for the next two-three years goes a long way to having a better chance of success. Having a wife and kids and putting the house on the line and worrying about the next mortgage payment or rent payment isn't being an entrepreneur, that is just being plain stupid and selfish. If you hang around your local startup groups, you will realize that everybody has something to bring to the table no matter how old. Anyway, I get your frustration. I would not devalue yourself. Don't take any of this seriously. It's just not worth it. One book that I think you would find worth reading is Cal NewPort's book - So Good They Can't Ignore You. His blog is also interesting. Thanks for letting me share my opinion on this. I don't intend it to sound preachy - it is just my own thoughts.