Eighty years or so goes by way too quickly. When we’re twenty, the world is an open book, a highway with plenty of side roads to choose from. The direction you take early on can determine the quality of your life, the number of years ahead, the people you meet, relationships you build, and the mark that you leave in the end. Some may choose to take it as it comes, playing the innocent bystander waiting for life to happen, while others tend to chart a course with specific goals defined well in advance. In one case, measurement doesn’t matter much because you are a passenger on the ride, while others take the wheel and determine direction and destination. Which one will you choose?

Leaving life to chance may be exhilarating and liberating but lacking in purpose and void of serious self-motivation while a life well-planned can lend itself to anxiety, stress, self-doubt, and occasional disappointment. Type A personalities thrive in a planned environment and accept the challenges to peace of mind and the chance of failure while the carefree thinker may spend decades failing to realize their potential.

One thing that is sometimes hidden, but generally desired is to finish the journey having made some type of dent in the universe. The final chapter proving that their presence had some level of importance to at least one other person, maybe even a community of people. Human nature requires an answer to the question: “Why am I here?”

Our purpose may have strong connections to the work that we do, the profession we chose, the influence we had on others, the products we made, businesses we built, academic achievements, songs we wrote, books we published, places we visited, games we won, records we broke, or the family that we helped to create. Whatever the goal, many who walk this planet dangle that carrot in front of them, constantly hoping to grab ahold.

There are also those whose purpose is quite simple – to exist, to enjoy life, to greet the day and state: “come what may”; a dent without a wide-ranging impact, but a dent none-the-less.

When Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, was quoted that we all should want to make a dent in the universe, “otherwise why even be here”, he was not necessarily talking about making great contributions but rather knowing that we can all change our circumstances. We have the power, if we so choose to commit the effort, to modify our outcomes. This is important and should be a flame of inspiration for all who get wrapped up in excuses for their situation in life. Now, sometimes those excuses are real, difficult, seemingly impossible, but as Jobs meant it, human beings have the capacity to change even the most challenging set of circumstances. Skills can be acquired, money can be found and earned, destinations can be reached, and most outcomes have a path if the person wants it, is willing to commit, and views the possibilities surrounding a dent in the universe.

This is, from my experience, very true in the culinary world. Prep cooks and line cooks have the capacity to become a chef, or even a restaurateur someday if they chose to commit to the process, have the stamina and patience to stay the course, and are willing to answer YES to the question: “Is what I’m doing right now, bringing me closer to reaching my goals.”

At the age of 20 something, you have an opportunity to chart your course, to determine what you want to accomplish, to determine if you want to be a passenger or a driver. Your dent in the universe is not pre-determined, you are in control and even the most daunting roadblock can be overcome, IF YOU REALLY WANT TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

Your goal is your goal. Your dent is your dent. Your purpose is your purpose. Not everyone is the same, but one thing is certain – a life with purpose is a life fulfilled. Here are a few quotes honoring that purposeful journey. Choose your own path.

“The purpose of life is not to just be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain

“The purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things better.” – Robert F. Kennedy

 “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that.”  – Howard Thurman.  

Make your dent, no matter how small.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Make a dent in the universe.

www.harvestamericacues.com – BLOG