Some people are happy with their lot. They find a career, do reasonably well, make a comfortable living and then retire. They may not have changed the world but then they had no particular desire to do so.
Then there are the Richard Bransons of this world who are determined to make their mark by constantly setting up businesses, selling them and moving on to the next challenge.
There are not many like him but there are far more who perhaps aspire to do the same thing but on a smaller scale.
Take Jason Clitherow, for instance. An electrician since the age of 16, he gradually worked his way through the trade, picking up all he could until he was in a position to start his own business, JEC Electrical Services based in Deddington. But he did not want to stop there.
He said: "I did not fancy rolling around in rough places until I was 65, and I thought there must be something different to do."
During the course of his work he was asked to install underfloor heating and realised there may be a market for actually supplying the systems he was working on directly to the customer.
Then he did some work for a website designer and Roman Underfloor Heating was born on the web.
It is a site he can update and he is trying to build up a list of e-mail addresses so he can contact potential customers.
Mr Clitherow explained: "It is such an up and coming industry. At the moment few people know much about it - everyone thinks underfloor heating involves pipes below the floor."
While that is a possibility, Mr Clitherow favours the more modern methods of cables or heated mats, which he claims are highly efficient ways of heating a room.
"Once these systems reach temperature they will keep that way using only a little power," he added.
He has three suppliers and because he places regular orders with them, he can offer discounts to customers.
Now Mr Clitherow has installed hundreds of systems and also sells about 20 a week to the building trade, fellow electricians and heating fitters. Of course the businesses are complementary, so one feeds the other.
What helps Mr Clitherow is a clear belief in the systems he sells, which he says are also environmentally friendly if installed correctly.
The Roman Underfloor Heating website has now been operating for five years and it has customers from all over the country.
Not content with that, his other website is JEC Electrical Appliances which supplies cookers, toasters and coffee makers, along with that 1970s favourite, hostess trolleys, which are apparently making a comeback into dining rooms across the country.
"They have not changed a great deal, although they are a little classier than the originals!" said Mr Clitherow.
The appliances are supplied either direct or through distributors and because of the nature of the Internet, orders have come in from worldwide, although he admits the cost of postage and packaging does not always make global transactions cost-effective for the customer.
Again, there is a neat cross-reference between the businesses, with Mr Clitherow able to offer a one-stop supply and installation service for electrical items, which allows costs to be kept down.
But he does not intend to rest on his laurels, as he has ideas for other websites.
One will provide information on underfloor heating to potential customers wanting to know how the various systems work.
Then he has become aware of the need for product inspection reports, which are part of Home Improvement Packs, and he wants to set up a site providing information on what those entail. On top of that, he also has a basic JEC Electrical website for the bread-and-butter business of being an electrician.
Mr Clitherow admits he relies on other people to help build the sites, although he can do the basics.
And he is helped with the orders and distribution by his wife Annabelle, although with two children to care for as well, there is no time to relax.
"I come back from work and play with the kids and then we are both trying to build up the websites."
The hub of the business is the family dining room and is handled on a laptop, while another computer comes out of cupboard after dinner.
"Often we are up until midnight and we don't have time to do things like watch television, but we do enjoy it as we look to progress with the businesses."
And in five years time, Mr Clitherow hopes the websites have enough momentum to generate 75 per cent of his business, rather than the 25 per cent they are currently responsible for.
Clearly, he is not your ordinary electrician and has an entrepreneurial streak which keeps driving him forward.
"When I was younger, I felt I was getting stuck in a rut but in my 30s I felt as if I have had a chance to do something in business. It makes life more interesting!"
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