I am sure if you investigate your life up until this point, you will realize that you have done some really amazing things. I’m sure if you took the time to really reflect on everything you have accomplished, you would truly understand your achievements and identify moments in your life where you shined as an individual. Taking an outside look at the whole, however, there were times that I not only failed, but I simply stopped trying. I just didn’t care. There were times when I didn’t care enough to follow through and finish whatever task may have been at hand.
As a child and ever since I can remember, school work came easy to me. I know the experience of school is different for everyone. I know many that struggled through certain classes, some that were pure geniuses, some that just did whatever had to be done and some that worked their asses off to get straight A’s in every class. In my personal experience, I was never very challenged in school. I found myself, like many others, passing notes, ignoring lectures, copying a friend’s homework and skipping classes. This most likely speaks to the quality of the educational system more than my innate ability to pass tests, but I think the bigger problem is that we were always taught the value of passing grades or graduating and never taught the value of education; the value of knowledge.
As I progressed through middle school, high school, and on to college, everyone stressed that “Next year will be different.”
“Next year will be difficult.”
“You better prepare to work hard next year.”
But the fact was, it didn’t become more difficult. It simply became adapting to a different system. The value was still on having a certain GPA, passing classes, and attaining a degree. Who was there to teach the true value of learning? The power that knowledge truly holds. I took education for granted. I certainly was “accomplishing” something…but looking back, I was kind of flakey. I didn’t slide by with C’s and D’s and I didn’t get straight A’s, but I did whatever I had to do in order to accommodate the system and learned about some stuff along the way. Imagine what kind of motivation I would have had to learn more about the world if the value had been put on the power of knowledge opposed to the value of a degree.
A degree is a finish line; knowledge is infinite and forever.
What I’m trying to explain, though, is that there came a point in my life where there was a major shift in perception. Especially as I approached college graduation and moving towards “the next step” in life, I began to think about my life in terms of my life instead of in terms of what everyone else does or what I’m supposed to do next. I began to see the value in knowledge, in education itself, and in personal experience. I especially found the value in self-exploration. The more I investigated myself, the more I learned and…the more I learned, the more I understood that there was still a whole lot I didn’t know. I began to seek new experiences, more knowledge, and different perspectives. I became energized by learning and less concerned with the grade.
The grade was a short term win, but the knowledge was a long-term asset.
I began to take on projects because I wanted to take them on. I was more likely to follow through and finish those projects. I began to take responsibility for my fate and my life. There was a major shift in my life perspective and I transitioned from a flake to someone who does what they say they will do. I began manifesting life right before my eyes and I realized that if I can do it, everyone else can too.
Now I don’t know why this perspective on education and knowledge can’t be ingrained in us at an earlier age, but I think if we were able to do that, all of our future generations would have much more potential. I do know that it started with my sudden awareness of myself. Instead of going through the motions, one day I looked outside of myself and viewed myself and my life from the outside in. That’s when I realized I was going through the motions and no one was going to take control of my life except for me.
I had hobbies; I didn’t have direction.
I had extracurricular activities; I didn’t have focus.
I had interests; I didn’t have purpose.
The cool thing about your life though is that you don’t find purpose. You don’t become possessed by purpose out of your own will. It’s not up to your parents, your friends, or your boss to give you purpose. You give purpose to your own life. You have the ability to define your own purpose. And the first step to understanding your purpose is to first truly understand yourself, your likes, your dislikes, your desires, your passions; the essence of your soul. The first step is understanding what kind of positive difference you, as an individual, wish to make within the world, within your community, or even just within your small circle of friends. Even the smallest purpose can have an infinite amount of influence throughout humanity.
If you feel like you’ve been going through the motions, take a step outside of yourself. Knowledge truly is power. The more we learn about ourselves and about the world, the wiser we will become. Encourage young people to ask themselves critical questions. Hell, ask yourself critical questions about your own life!
If you don’t yet understand your purpose today, that’s okay.
Now it’s your turn to explore yourself and define a purpose that will make your life fulfilled.
Bootstrap-preneur 
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