Thank you for your thoughts and the great article. I will pass it on to my younger friends, children, etc. One think I'd like to mention from my perspective (turning happy 55): I think it does not really matter in which order you live your life. Today's world allows for all kinds of routes and paths. During my Ph.D. time I had a colleague who had a very tough project with experiments that didn't really work as planned. And he spoke five languages fluently due to traveling and family background. Plus he was just a relaxed, intelligent guy. He developed the (fantastic) career that he wanted based on his personality and language skills. Most important: change what you are doing until you enjoy what you are doing. Twill give you 10x the energy and save you from burning out.