Here is an excerpt from Jaime’s chapter in my book.  The things this young man spoke of during our interview could have come from a wise old man.  Such is the maturity and wisdom Jaime has developed at an early stage in his journey.  To read more and find out how Jaime changed the course of his life, you can purchase the book in Paperback and Kindle, or on your Nook.  You can follow him on Twitter @babackpacker

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At 23 years old, Jaime (pronounced Hi-meh) found himself sitting in a Houston jail cell contemplating the lack of fulfillment in his life.  His thought process went something like this:

Jaime—You have a good job.  You’re not happy.

You’re making a decent wage.  You’re not happy.

You’re comfortable.  You’re not happy.

What do you need to do to be happy?

Having dropped out of college and working for a banking institution for six years, Jaime thought happiness meant going back to school, finishing his degree, saving for a home, finding a partner, and settling down.  He reentered school after his Driving While Intoxicated incident, but still feeling unhappy, he decided those ideals were not for him.

“I thought it would be happiness because it’s what everybody does—they finish school.  I dropped out again.  I realized I don’t want a home.  I want to travel.”

Jaime had worked since the age of 15 and believed if he wanted or needed something, he could work hard enough to get it.  He grew up with five siblings and knew his parents would not be able to provide the brand name clothing, gold chains, and other hot items teenagers wanted at the time. 

At 17, he was accepted for a banking internship and started as a teller.  His love of banking grew and at 20, he was promoted to a customer service representative.  Jaime enjoyed helping customers and if he could sell a service, great—but there was no pressure from management.  He also had more responsibilities and was learning more of the business.

Then management changed and “everything went downhill from there.”  The focus changed to making money.  Executives monitored how much customer reps sold, how many calls they handled daily, and how long each call lasted.

The fun of Jaime’s job was gone and he started despising his work environment.  “I felt like I was chained to my desk.  Every time the phone rang, I would curse in my head.  I completely hated it.”

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