Personal Revelation?

My sister and I were talking recently about what we would do if we could have any job in the world. Ordinarily, I hem and haw and kinda sorta have an answer to this question. This time, for some reason, it was pretty easy to answer. This is subject to change, I'm sure. My answer for the time being is that I want to own/operate a budget tour service that caters to the young traveler/backpacking crowd in North America. There are a few companies that do this already but it's not nearly as widespread here as it is in Europe and Down Under. I personally have used Oz Experience, Kiwi Experience, and Stray Travel. And I know Moose Travel Network covers Canada and Green Tortoise is one of the more popular for seeing the US/Mexico/Central America. And then of course there's Contiki. But I think if I really worked at it I could create a unique product for my market of choice.

And maybe I'd combine it with other travel booking services. Maybe I'd run or otherwise be involved with a B&B or a hostel on the side. And of course this would all be based in a way cooler city than any I've lived in so far. I know for sure that every time I've contemplated any of the above ideas, I've gotten really excited about the possibilities. I never got this excited about making cereal.

Em said she wants to be a wedding planner. In four months she'll have a PR degree. My mother would wet herself (in a good way) if we went into business together. Em could plan the weddings, and I could send folks on their honeymoons, and it could all coordinate and overlap nicely.

Part of me says that right now is a good time to start on this, while I'm "in transition." Except that I have no experience, knowledge, capital, or a means of breaking in to the industry. My particular brand of risk aversion doesn't usually include trying new things (it's mostly just avoiding conflict). The trouble I'm having with this idea is that I'm afraid to be poor. Most of us have this problem, which is why most of us tolerate our jobs but don't truly love them. The bills have to get paid somehow. We become accustomed to a certain standard of living which we couldn't possibly lower. Actually we could, but we really don't want to. And, let's face it, these jobs that we do make the world go 'round and keep life as we know it, well, as we know it. Division of labor and all that good stuff. If I can do my job and do it well, even if I don't loooooove it, why shouldn't I do it? Who else is going to do it? So I'm going to stick with the engineer thing for a while. Like I said before, the bills have to get paid, and I have plenty of bills that need to be paid, and the engineer thing pays 'em well enough.