As I've mentioned before, one of my favorite parts about this job is getting a chance to meet and talk with so many different people. As a relatively quiet, ink-stained wretch covering a largely sales-oriented field (read, extroverted!), I'm often struck by how different people's personalities and lifestyles can be.

A few months back, I was having dinner with the co-founders of a benefits technology company. Though both are much younger than I am, their latest venture is only the most recent of several successful start-ups already on their resume.

As they talked about their successes and failures, their penchant for risk and their drive to succeed, I found myself wondering, “What is it that keeps them coming back?” I mean, I'd like to think if I suddenly became independently wealthy, I'd take a few months off and then get back in the game. But realistically? I'd say it's just as likely I'd disappear into a dusty old bookshop and never be heard from again.