We always end up doing what we are second best at..

It seems I have been reflecting a lot lately as I am sure we all do. Having worked as an artist, for what seems like forever, has often been a rocky ride. Has it been worth it, who knows, and I am not about to go down that road here..
Once upon a time I was a big time black and white hand printer. Worked for them all, Bailey, Averdon, Testino, you name them. Was good at it too, but I really grew to hate it. It was almost like a curse being naturally good at something, but not wanting to do it. I wanted to be a photographer through and through. After thinking about this for a while I remembered a Marcel Proust quote from my studies;
"We always end up doing the thing we are second best at."
 And that my friends could not be more true, for me at least. But I also remember something my father told me on my eighteenth birthday after a couple of drinks;
"Don't be like me Son and end up doing a job you despise for thirty years. I wanted to be a writer, not a @@@@ing tool holder!"