by Eddie Patin
Where are you in your life right now? Are you in High School? College? Are you in the work force, in early adulthood, or reaching the middle of your lifetime? Have you gotten to the point where you’ve mastered your industry? Or are you still getting your knocks—building that skill-set and gaining experience? Are you approaching retirement? Retired?
It’s funny how our culture instills in us something of a pre-determined path—and most of us never really think outside of that narrow road. If you never really give much thought to what is going on outside the walls of your senses, around the tiny world that each of us lives in, you may go along forever, swayed by the events and personalities that interact with you. Aimless and without purpose. Until you are aware of how much really goes on outside your life (life as you know it), or of the infinite and ridiculously creative ways that the world goes on and life exists outside the way you thought things were … you may never realize what amazing potential each and every one of us really has.
If you’re still a high school student, you may not be aware of life outside the culture-created bubble you’ve been living in up until now. Are you bouncing around from day to day, class to class, living amidst that uniquely ‘high school’ social structure and just going along with the way you think things are done? The only life you’ve really known so far? Maybe you’re thinking about college, or at least about what you want to do with your life. Or perhaps you’re just thinking of meeting your friends at the mall, trying to stay cool (or be cool), or what you’ll be watching on T.V. tonight.
Funny thing is … despite how different the real world is from high school (how different the social order and the priorities become), most of us will retain a lot of that undeveloped, unfocused outlook. It doesn’t take much of a mind to coast through life, following that path of everyone else, simply getting by and avoiding death.
It is far easier to live in mediocrity, unthinking, living through distractions, than it is to take control of yourself and fulfill your potential. Your purpose.
Most of us never evolve beyond the emotional and spiritual state of an adolescent, or even a child. We spend our entire lives distracting ourselves from developing past that high school state of mind. Even though some of us might realize that it’s not necessary to achieve and maintain ‘coolness’ (you’d be surprised how many people never outgrow this), we’ll still spend most of our time trying as hard as possible to stay distracted and entertained—and never devote any extra time to mastering ourselves.
Say you do get beyond high school, and you’re going to college, studying to become a … whatever. Why do you do it? Why have you chosen your path? Is it for the money, or because it’s what your parents did, or is it something you truly enjoy? Even if you enjoy what you’re studying, how are you going about it? If you don’t pay attention to the ‘whys’, you’ll find yourself coasting through school, just following the motions (like in high school), caught up in another set of distractions, and pushing to finish it. ‘Just get that degree.’
Do you study to improve your understanding of the world and the things in the world that move you? Do you seek to expand your mind? Or are you just going to school because that is the way things are done, and you’re simply moving day to day, enacting the class-cram-testing mechanism over and over again until you attain a piece of paper?
What is the purpose of life when you allow yourself to fall into routines in order to pass the time?
Maybe you’re finished with college, or just went straight into the workforce. And this is where the routine becomes famous throughout our culture—the dullest set of life in a grinder yet. Famous. The butt of the biggest joke of all. Yet … we put up with it.
So you are working, or trying to find a job so you can work. … Why?
Why do you work? What’s the point?
For money? To pay the bills? There has got to be a better way to make money than doing something you don’t enjoy. Why would you trade your valuable time for money?
Perhaps you love or believe in what you do? That’s great. But would you suffer financially if you ceased to work that job? Do you need it? As in: you wouldn’t be able to survive (financially; not spiritually) without it?
Or are you retired? Perhaps you get a small pension or live off of your savings. Are you still working? Or do have plenty enough money to live on and work because you can’t abide the idea of doing nothing? Another distraction…
The point of all of this is … what’s the point? What’s your point? Your purpose?
If you were to eliminate the distractions from your life, you would be forced to face the only thing that remains: yourself. Once you can see yourself clearly, there can be no questions as to what you must do to achieve your fullest potential as a human being.
Ayn Rand (author of “Atlas Shrugged”) said:
“People create their own questions because they are afraid to look straight. All you have to do is look straight and see the road, and when you see it, don't sit looking at it—walk.”
The most valuable resource any of us has is time. We only have so much time, and however we choose to spend it, once it passes, it’s gone. Money comes and goes, but time is completely finite.
Because we only have so much time, discovering our purpose in life and living that purpose is one of the most important steps you can take. More than going to school, more than getting a high-paying job. And because we human beings can only live through the exercise of our minds, finding and achieving your purpose, and attaining the mental, emotional, and spiritual stimulation that will come with it, is the only way to ever be truly happy.
That is not to say that I look down upon getting a great education or attaining lots of money. But, you must ask yourself why you want these things.
Why would we ever want money?
Imagine:
For a moment, assume that you are wealthy. You have lots of money. Forget about how you got it. You have it. Where is the value in that money? Not in the cash itself. The value of money is what it means. What it brings. Security and confidence from financial uncertainty. The ability to have whatever you want. The freedom to do whatever you want.
But what do you want to do?
Money is a means to an end. We attain (or try to attain) money so that we have the freedom to pursue our dreams and … fulfill our purpose.
But you cannot simply work for that money. You’ll never accomplish what you want (to pursue and achieve your purpose) by trading all of your time for money. Your time is too valuable. You may work for forty years making and saving enough money so that you can do whatever it is you really want to do … and so much time will be wasted pursuing a misguided goal.
Only when money is no longer a concern (when you have it), will you see that you’re really just beginning.
No matter where in your life you are right now, you’ll never be happy until you know what it is that you really want. So take some time, and think about it. What do you truly desire? Not money—money is the vehicle that will help you get to what you want. What were you born to do? What, in all your life, do you really want to accomplish?
After you’ve discovered your purpose, you can really make steps to get there. Want to go to college? That’s great if you’re trying to expand your mind, or to attain your purpose. But if you’re just going there so that you can get a better job—don’t spend too much time on it. Remember that the job will just be a vehicle to get the money, which will just be a vehicle to attain your ultimate goal.
If you’re working a job that you don’t enjoy, and live day to day in the same hideous routine—aware that something is wrong with the world and not quite able to put your finger on it… STOP!
Well, not entirely. Don’t quit your day-job. Not yet. But take the time to realize your goal and make plans to get out of the rat race and get there. How do you solve that money problem? How are you going to get money in a way that won’t take up all of your time and allow you to achieve the financial freedom you need to do what you really want to do? Educate yourself. Not the way you used to educate yourself—you must now study financial literacy. Learn about where you are financially and what you have to do to get to the other areas (there are other ways, you know). Learn to read that financial mumbo-jumbo. How to speak it. Learn about business. Investing. Cashflow and passive income.
When you learn about the world of finances (outside the world that the financial institutions and the media are training you to accept as the world), you’ll learn that you should be using your day-job, and any other money you can earn, to develop ways to increase your passive cashflow. That’s income created by your money working for you. Income you don’t have to trade your time for. When that passive income builds to the point where the 'passive' money is greater than that of your day-job, you can quit the day-job. When the passive income builds to the point where it pays all of your expenses (and then some), you have achieved financial freedom. You have money. And can spend your time pursuing your purpose.
The more passive cashflow you can create, the more time you’ll have to pursue your dreams. Your purpose. And that is when you’ll find that life is amazing. Everything makes sense. And you will be truly happy.
There are many ways to build passive income. One way is through (educated) investing. Another way is through building a part time business, a business system that can run (and make money) without you. You’ll find one such business opportunity on my website, BiggerCashflow.com.
So, take the time to discover your purpose. When you know your purpose, setting goals is easy, and when you can set real goals—your path to success is clear. Educate yourself on financial literacy (read everything you can—with a grain of salt), and turn your spare time and spare income toward developing passive income.
Eliminate the distractions and learn about yourself. As Ayn Rand implied, the uncertainty is all in your head. The distractions are made out of fear and doubt. Have courage, see straight, and take action.
I’ll leave you with a quote from Frank Herbert’s “Dune”:
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
