Recently, I watched a Netflix documentary called Minimalism, directed by Matt D’Avella. While this post isn’t about being a minimalist specifically, there was a quote by AJ Leon, a former Wall-Street Broker, that sparked something in my brain.
His quote made me think a lot about life (which I do a lot anyways) and finding your “purpose” in the world. His quote gave me this wild realization of how fascinating we are as humans and how we all live our lives and cope with all the struggles of being humans.
So this post is about finding your purpose, living the life you want to live, and how we all see the world/find meaning in the world in such vastly different ways.
I know that may seem vague, but trust me.
QUOTE
“…on December 31, 2007, my boss calls me into his office, and he tells me that I’m getting a promotion… And everything that I had ever worked for was going to be handed to me right then and there… I walked out of his office, and I walked into my own, and I just closed the door behind me and I just started weeping, because I realized I was completely and utterly trapped. And that I would never be able to walk away from that amount of money ever in my life. And any dream that I had of living a life of purpose and meaning, and being an adventurer, and somebody that would actually take risks, and live a life that’s deliberate and intentional, those were gone…
“When you see your life scripted out, and you recognize that this is not anything I will– why am I doing this? This guy that’s handing me this firm, I don’t want to be him. I don’t envy his life. Maybe this was never for me to begin with. And maybe if I don’t leave right now, I’m going to be that dude for the rest of my life…”
Response to the Quote
Maybe AJ’s quote doesn’t hit you the same way it hit me, but when I first heard him say it, I kinda zoned out and fell down a rabbit hole of thinking.
Here’s a guy who grew up thinking that money was the number one thing he should be focusing on when choosing a major and a career, so he went into finance and accounting. Then he spent his twenties working his way up the corporate ladder until he was finally offered everything he had worked for. He was receiving the status and compensation he had dreamed of for years, but if he took the offer, he knew that was it. He’d never be able to do anything else.
That feeling scares the shit out of me. That feeling of being trapped in a job that I don’t even enjoy that much. A job that pays well, but doesn’t fuel my desire to work hard and feel like I’m pursuing my purpose.
At this stage of my life, my intuition tells me that I shouldn’t chase money, I should be chasing happiness. I should be trying new things every chance I get and pursuing my passions to their full extent.
I want to do what I love and meet new people with money being at the back of my mind.
I’d rather live below my means doing something that makes me feel great than make six figures feeling stuck and craving the weekends.
I truly believe life is about experiences. It doesn’t matter what car you have, how big your house is, how many boats you have, or what any of your material possessions are. Because in the end, you can’t take any of it with you.
This path is what I presume will create a life I want to live.
This leads me into the main point I wanted to talk about.
Alternate Mindsets
It’s wild to me that other people don’t think the same way as me. There are millions of people out there who couldn’t care less about being “happy” in the same way I view it. People who would rather make one hundred grand a year doing something they’re just content with. Millions who chase material things like cars, homes, TVs, and the newest iPhone. They chase these things because they make them “happy”. They feel like they’ve accomplished something when they purchase that new gadget. There’s this mindset of success being defined by the number after the dollar sign.
That’s wild to me.
Absolutely wild.
Like I can’t even wrap my head around it. I’ve never been someone who likes spending my money. I’ve always been a saver and investor from the moment I got my first job at 15. That’s just how I was raised.
I can understand the freedom you’d feel with all that money in your bank account and the feeling of security knowing that you can buy whatever you want or need at any time, but it’s the process of getting to that point that scares me.
I don’t want to work for someone else, somewhere I hate, just to reach that point. Even if it is “only for a few years”. That feels like a waste of my time.
But others don’t see it that way.
And I’m in no way bashing you if you think differently than me, I’m just saying you interest me.
As I continued pondering this concept of differing views of success and status, it evolved into how people generally view the world.
I know the biggest factor in this is the whole nature versus nurture argument, but it’s still a crazy thing to think about.
Each and every one of us views the world in our own unique way. We choose to view similar events in different light. You may view a failed attempt at starting a business as just that, a failure. I would view it as a step towards a successful future business.
You may get cut off while driving on the highway and grow angry, while I would think “Maybe that person is rushing to the hospital” or simply just forget about it immediately.
We all view the world and everything that occurs in vastly different ways and we all cope with all these external and even internal events differently.
I think it’s rad to consider all of the different mindsets and coping mechanisms and… I don’t even know what to call it… things? All the different things out there that people use to make sense of the world we live in. Things to find meaning in our lives. Things used to find our “purpose”.
One person may believe that minimalism is the answer to their happiness. Another person finds that religion, prayer, or meditation will show them the way. Someone else believes there’s no point in searching for meaning in the world because there’s no answer to even find.
There’s the “everything happens for a reason” people and the “why did this have to happen to me?” people. The person that says “I could never start a business. It’d never work.” versus “I can do it. I just have to start.”
There’s no right or wrong way to see the world, but we all have a way that is right for us, and that’s really cool to me.
I’m never going to judge a person for viewing the world in their own way, even if it’s the opposite of how I see the world. I may disagree with you on some things, that’s inevitable, but I’ll always listen to why you feel certain ways about specific topics and I’ll be curious as to how you formed your views and opinions. I’ll have an objective conversation with you.
If we’re talking about why you’re an optimist, a pessimist, a nihilist, etc. Or why you follow Buddhism, Catholicism, or another religion. How you deal with your anxiety, depression, or a physical disorder. I’m hyped to listen and hope you’ll do the same.
MESSAGE
I guess the message behind this post is, don’t be so quick to judge someone if they have opposing views than you. Don’t get angry with them if they respond to situations differently than you would.
Realize that we’re all here doing the same thing. Each of us is living our own unique life, trying to find meaning, trying to find our purpose, trying to “figure it out”. We each choose how we see the world and respond to it based on past experiences and teachings. So who are we to judge someone else for deciding what’s right for them?
Thanks
Thanks so much for reading this post. I truly hope you enjoyed and maybe even learned something.
If you did enjoy, let me know! I love hearing from you and chatting with new people, so don’t hesitate to comment on this post or message me on any of my social media pages.
If you’re looking for more content, check out some of my past blog posts or listen to some of my podcast interviews with other people who are just trying to make sense of this crazy thing called life.
Find it at anchor.fm/expeditiontotry
