What Do You Want Out of Life?

Since my #1 fan has been harassing me to write another blog post, I figure I owe him a shout out…Kyle, here’s to you.

Kyle is my favorite person to bounce ideas and new concepts off of because I know he’ll question me from every angle and make me consider all the options. Sometimes I’m not sure if he just likes pissing me off or if he genuinely believes what he’s saying (probably a combination), but as a result of his “asshole”/devil’s advocate approach to life we both come out learning a lot after each philosophical debate.

Personally, I model my life after people like Sir Richard Branson (www.virgin.com), Vishen Lakhiani (www.mindvalley.com), and Greg Habstritt (www.engagedentrepreneur.com), and I pursue a totally different lifestyle than most people on earth, including my good friend Kyle.

In terms of a career, I want to be incredibly passionate about my work. I want to work whenever, wherever and however much I want, and have my work make a significant, real contribution to the world. I will not settle for a comfortable life, working a typical 9-5 job doing something that’s just OK.

In my world, life’s too short to be comfortable…and OK.

I want to travel the world and do everything and anything I can. I want to volunteer, have all kinds of adventures, experience all cultures and ways of life, attend seminars on whatever interests me, learn languages and weird skills for the fun of it, and really ENJOY LIFE.
To me, it all comes down to those O So Smart Egyptians, who believed the answers to 2 questions allowed them to proceed into the afterlife.

Did You Find Joy?
Did You Bring Joy To Others?

People living a “normal” life, working 9-5 are not going to like me for saying this, and that’s fine, I respect their life decisions and opinions. But, the answers to those questions are not good enough for me when I think about the prospect of sitting in a cubicle, pushing paper and contributing only to the overly complex societal system humanity has created.

I’m not saying people who choose this life are bad people or won’t have good answers to these questions. Everyone makes a difference in the world; the question at hand is what kind of difference. It’s fantastic if you get a job that pays the bills, takes care of your family, and allows you to sponsor a child in Africa. In all seriousness, you are making a positive contribution to humanity, and I commend you.

However, in order to really change the world and really really live life, you gotta step outside of this reality.

For me, Awesomeness lies on the other side of normalcy, where craziness, weirdness, and fun are the new “norm”…and, thankfully, everyday I find more people who choose to live on this side of the fence. (it’s not easy being weird sometimes)

Ultimately it alls comes down to what you want out of life, and how you want to answer those 2 questions when you die. Unfortunately most people never take the time to really consider this, (but that subject is for a different blog post)…for now, take a second to get real, and ask yourself if you died today:

Did You Find Joy?
Did You Bring Joy To Others?