Read This If You Don't Know The Meaning Of Life

Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash

Hang with me on this one.

I'm going a little off-script and into more retrospection that I usually do, here.

You have your own set of challenges.

Your personal life, individual experiences, and DNA have led you to where you are.

It's a mixed up, nuanced, convoluted interaction between who you are, where you're going, where you've been, what you envision, and what the world is telling you.

My point?

There's no wrong way to eat a Reese's.

I've had enough bad days to know that there will be plenty more.

I've had enough good days to know that it's worth getting through the bad ones.

At some point, we make decisions about who we are, where we're going, etc.

The way we go is the way we go.

There's no right or wrong, here.

It's just true.

It seems that knowing this, our broader purpose is to conquer ourselves and teach others to do the same.

This might sound too much like my attempt at explaining the "meaning of life," but I'm okay with that.

This is truthfully about as close as I've gotten to answering that question.

The reason we're here, with all our sentience, is to quiet those inner demons, conquer ourselves, and train the next generation to do the same.

I'm sure this isn't the meaning of life, but I'm also just as sure that I'm either close or directionally aligned.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, so please reply/comment.

2 Minute Action

Take a second to reflect and evaluate the following:

• What voices do you have that contradict your mission?
• How do you engage them when they are noisy?
• What might you do to help the next generation learn this skill set?

Take 2 minutes to reach out to someone in your life and ask "how can I help you?"

This small gesture just might be enough to move the needle for someone or give them the courage to go after something they desire.

When You Break Something Of Value

Today, it broke.It was a cheap rubber wristband that I have been wearing for the past few months.Nothing this cheap was meant to last longer than that.If you know me at all, you know that I actively try to remove excess stuff from my life--so you might be wondering why I care or why I have a cheap rubber wristband in the first place.

Here's what happened:

I was running one of my team's LEGO® shows for kids in St. Paul, MN.Part of our shows makes room for displayers of all ages. It helps get locals out to be part of the show and it helps kids network with other builders who are in their community. Pretty cool, right?Well, one kid was so excited to be there that he brought these rubber LEGO® wristbands to give out.

When I spoke with him and thanked him for his hard work, he gave me one of his wristbands.

"Thanks for inviting me, I'm SO excited to be here," he said.It's moments like these when you realize that what you do helps other people be themselves and be part of a community that encourages learnings, that you smile and realize it's all worth it.This kid had the time of his life connecting with older builders and meeting other kids just like him.So no, it doesn't matter that the wristband broke--because I will never forget that kid.Take this as a reminder that it's easy to confuse the value of stuff with the value of experiences.

2 Minute Action

It doesn't have to be a wristband, but what can you give to someone around you to let them know you appreciate them?

• It could be a handwritten "COUPON - Good For 1 Free BackRub."
• It could be a flattened penny.
• It could be a pack of Juicy Fruit gum.

It doesn't matter what the vehicle is, it just matters what sentiment you gave it.It will take you 2 minutes to write a post-it note or give someone a wooden nickel with a story that holds meaning.

Why Your Life Doesn't Look Successful

I recently noticed that many of my friends and family are making more money than me, taking vacations to exotic places, having babies, buying houses, and starting families.

 

I'm 29 and most of my Facebook Newsfeed is 3 things:

 

• People getting married

• People having a baby

• People getting a dog

 

After a few years of watching the social media filtered highlights of their lives, I've realized the big reason my life and career doesn't look the same.

 

I don't want the same things they want.

 

I want, so desperately, to live a meaningful life.

 

I call this the Death Bed Principle.

 

The idea is simple. What kind of life will I look back on from my death bed? What will I need to do to feel like I spent my time and energy in worthwhile, useful way?

 

My goal is to avoid the most common regrets dying folks have:

 

"I wish I had lived my own life instead of the life others' prescribed," and "I wish I hadn't worked so much."

 

Please read Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware for more context and depth into her striking discoveries.

 

One of the ways I've started implementing the Death Bed Principle into my life is by counting the estimated weeks I've got left.

 

Take the average lifespan for a person my sex and nationality (roughly 80 years), convert that into weeks, subtract the number of weeks I've had, and voila.

 

As of today, I've got a little over 2,000 weeks left.

 

Looking death square in the face is scary, but I don't want to be scared of dying. I want to be at peace with my life and how I spent my time.

 

If I look back at my journey and all I see is 40 hours a week spent at a job I didn't really love, working for a cause that didn't really help the world, I'll be full of regret.

 

If I look back and I see my entire life lived in self-indulgence, knowing I could have done more to help others, I'll be full of regret.

 

If I look back and I see my hard work to make the world a better place, regardless of the challenges I overcame and the failures I had, I'll be proud of my journey and I'll leave a legacy of courage and honor for my family.

 

Success will look very different for you than it will for others who can only see the next vacation they're planning.

 

If you're working hard just so you don't have to work anymore, you're at extreme risk for regret.

 

2 MINUTE ACTION

 

Take 2 minutes to calculate how much time you've got left.

 

Use the Death Bed Principle to write down a list of what a successful life would look like from your last week.

 

Write down what the Facebook Newsfeed of a "successful" person might look like.

 

Defining success will massively increase your odds of getting there.

 

If you're looking to join others who share your definition of success, take this 2 minutes to join the Relentless Community on Facebook and share your values and ideals.

 

We're all on team human. Sometimes it helps to be reminded of that by like-minded, motivated souls.