I was recently introduced to a very accomplished man. We talked about his wonky career path and why he loves what he does. He’s open about the fact that he was adopted from India at age 8 by a Canadian family. As soon as he could, he got jobs, working three paper-routes when he was 13 years old and as a busboy when he was 15. He says he worked so much, he hardly slept through high school. Or after. He’s thirty-something now, and the hard work hasn’t stopped.

I was impressed, and said so.

He shrugged and said, “I didn’t want my parents to feel they’d made a mistake.”