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I was a really uninquisitive kid when it came to understanding what my parents did for a living. In the early years, all I knew was that my dad worked at the office. So it was that when we once went to eat at a restaurant called The Office, in a village three miles from our home, I believed for a time that this was where he worked.

I actually learned that my dad was managing partner at a legal firm from a friend at school. This came up in a discussion between two other boys about the fin on the back of my father’s car, which one of them was adamant was the antenna for a car phone. That luxury saloon, of course, indicated that he was doing very well in his career. Well that and everything else.

But I had a completely different mindset, daydreaming about living off the land. I had no conception then of the world of work, and didn’t really understand what a solicitor did. I suppose somebody should have thought to steer me, and explain what a profession is. Perhaps it was assumed that the school was setting all of that out.

When I did eventually begin thinking about what I wanted to do when I grew up, every suggestion was greeted with skepticism and discouragement. My desire to pursue architecture written off because I was no good at maths. My desire to pursue graphic design because it wasn’t a proper profession.

By the time I truly understood the value of these things, it was too late to help me, personally. My foundations were all wrong. Still, this belated realisation has value in helping to steer our own children in positive directions. They have the benefit of having seen what I do up close for a decade now, so perhaps they are more aware of work than I was.

I see my own experience as a resource to draw on, to inspire greater ambition in pursuit of a comfortable future. Had I been more inquisitive in my youth, perhaps everything would have been different. That’s why I keep having these conversations with our kids. Perhaps one day it will sink in.