Advice To A London Cabbie: If you hate your job that much, do something about it!

I got in a taxi last week and we got talking. The cabbie had been off ill for a year and was back behind the wheel for the first time that night. I had to update him on road closures and how a junction layout had changed; so much so, I joked he should be sitting in the back and me in the front. He was not happy to be back behind the wheel. In fact he told me that he'd hated being a cabbie for ... wait for it... fifteen years! He really wanted to be a builder, doing loft conversions.

I had to laugh because over the years I have spoken to loads of people who wanted to take the Leap to work for themselves or make a career change. Most had an instinct to take the leap or do something different, while others had just a 10% hunch but knew they needed to take action. But here was a bloke who knew 100% he wanted to do something different; and what's more he hadn't just tolerated something he hated for 15 weeks or 15 months, but 15 years. Gulp! As I handed over my fare, he said he wasn't sure what he should do, should he set up a basic website and start trading, fulfilling his dream? To me, it was unbelievable. If you hate something that much AND if you have a clear yearning for something else, just do it. Go for it!

So I gave him a tip. I told him to live his dream and go for it.

(And then I realised he should have paid me, not the other way around....)