However my parents - both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing quirk that would never pay a mortgage or secure a pension.

You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply with greater vision with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.