First things first:
> ...so I can be an out of work writer without having to hold a certificate to say I am qualified to be an out of work writer.

I really liked that line. Education and certification only takes a person so far.

> Do you know your purpose, do you know what fulfills you? Shouldn't this be a ridiculously easy question to answer and if you have the answer, does this mean you are fulfilled in your life?

I do not think it is an easy question to answer, and if you are fulfilled in life, then why continue to live? Where does the search lead when you have reached the end of the search and found your purpose. 

Purpose in life is always changing, one purpose is reached, and new purpose is found. One fulfillment is reached and then the thirst for more sets in. It is not that dis-satisfaction drives us, it is the joy of having found and fulfilled one purpose, then beginning the quest and search for another.

Is it possible you do not consider yourself a writer because you do not have the formal education in that field? 
It reminds me of a post I read about a man who almost lost his wife because he was always busy working to give her the best in life but she was always upset because that wasn't what she wanted. She was more content with actually spending time with her family and building her home and he could not understand why she was so content with so little. She moved out eventually and he realised that coming home to a huge empty house wasn't actually all it is cracked up to be.

So, I'll start at the end.

If I won the lottery I'd ride more.  More often, more places, more miles. Most likely on a new motorcycle (s) and I'd stay in Motels more often :) 
I'm pretty sure I'd give most of the money away.

I have described myself as 'a stacker of words' rather than a writer.  I love to read fiction but I seldom write it.  I am a story teller and writing is simply a part of that for me.  I tell stories in person and on the screen.

I don't know if I've found my purpose, probably not.  I do know that I've found my comfort, and that's a large enough fraction of my purpose to keep it from being a distraction.  Doesn't mean that I don't contemplate it, or even chase it some, but I don't need it today to be complete enough.

Because complete enough is for me today.  Enough.

Oh man.  I've read the comment thread and need to make another comment.

Education has it's place, and we all depend on it educated or not.  Does any one of us go to a doctor that 'picked it up on the way'?  The tech manuals and text books and much of the literature we read is written by people who were trained and educated to do so.

Would any of us want to live downstream from a Dam that was built by an 'amateur engineer'?  

There's nothing wrong with calling myself a writer, but I'm not Steven King. I write for enjoyment and to order my thoughts.

I think that since you write... you are a writer! I also think it's better you see it as a form of art for your craft than a formal pursuit of career. Personally, i believe self-educating is one of the best methods for personal exploration as well as development. This was an interesting and thought-provoking post on many levels. It helped me think more deeply about making goals to use my activities and interests as tools to build the future i want. In this age of information and accessibility it would be foolish to not endeavor to grow. As much as leisure is part of decompressing from the stresses of the world... it can also be a pitfall to become one of the greatest of time wasters. My dad always said if you can make money or a living doing something you love.... Do that! Now, just falling back in love with those things may be the tricky part. 
 https://media.giphy.com/media/z2LsgWJRqAmmQ/giphy.gif

A lot of the well known writers didn't get a degree in writing. Talent combined with self education can override a standard education. I think it's less about the degree and more about the content itself. There is no use to hold an expensive degree if your articles, books, writing s, fail to touch the human heart.

Why do you not regard yourself as a writer? 

I personally don't get why people would rather sit 4 years in a university environment for something they can get for free either. I've been teaching myself some python since May and I would say am enjoying it quite a bit, all for free too.

Hi @tarazkp,

Perhaps we are all not writers if we consider illiterate people, but we all have something important to say or narrate to the audience that appreciates us.

I have had to read the publication twice to understand the title: Fulfilling and forgetting promises of another time. I'm still not sure, maybe it's because of the translation from English to Spanish, or because I'm already a bit tired. In any case, the most difficult promises to keep are those we make to ourselves, and consequently, we tend to throw them into the trunk of oblivion. The ones we do to others, they don't always forget. In any case, it is better not to promise if you are not going to deliver, and even less the ones you do to yourself. Lying to you will get you nowhere.

In the other plot twist, if I agree with you, we are very bad at predicting how we will feel in the future, even if we will have met the goals, we may discover with the arrival of maturity that what we wanted when we are young now does not satisfy us . That's how complex we are.

Well if you’re not a writer I need to stop pretending I’m an artist or a writer 😜

I think formal education is grossly overrated. There’s only some things you need to be formally educated in. 

>Do you know your purpose, do you know what fulfills you?

This has to be one of the toughest questions to answer. It feels like the answer is never really constant. At age 10 you'd think growing older and moving out would bring you the most fulfilment, but the moment we're over 20, it gets real. We never really get it right coz I guess it's meant to be that way.