One of my grandfathers actually having gone out there as a minister decided he would better serve the people as a doctor. So at a very late age - at the age of 38 in fact - he changed course and decided to become a doctor.
I am convinced that material things can contribute a lot to making one's life pleasant but basically if you do not have very good friends and relatives who matter to you life will be really empty and sad and material things cease to be important.
