Dear Readers,
Thanks for coming back! Contrary to what I had previously supposed, I will not be combining my treatises for November and December. Instead, I have here today my treatise for November standing on its own.
I will publish Decembers treatise perhaps not until early January due to Christmas. In the meantime, I hope that you enjoy this one, and anything else that I am able to put up here in the next month.
Happy reading!
Dallin D. Shumway
History is made because of achievement. Whether those achievements be for good or ill, they are they are the things that are remembered by generations that follow.
In Abraham Lincoln’s famous speech, The Gettysburg Address, given in Nov. of 1863, he spoke of the sacrifice made by the Union Soldiers at Gettysburg earlier that year. He followed this point up by saying; “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” Obviously the fame of this speech in our day proves his prediction that the “world will little note, nor long remember what we say here” to be incorrect. But, the point that I wish to emphasize is what he said about about the world never forgetting “what they did there.” The Union soldiers made a historical achievement at the battle of Gettysburg. Many people consider that battle to be the turning point for the North in the War Between the States, and that is what today’s generation of American’s remembers about the “boys in blue.”
Beginning with basic necessities, all the way to non-essential comforts, man has built life up around him by achieving the material by which he builds it. This material is not necessarily the raw material itself by which the substance is made (like the wood used to build a house), but might, perhaps, simply be the money by which to purchase the substance (or the house in this example).
Back in September I talked about the necessity for intellectual advancement in order for achievements to be made. If you didn’t get a chance to read that post, why not check it out when you’re done with this one? Here’s a link; http://teenagephilosoper.blogspot.com/2014/09/treatise-1-intellectual-superstar-sep.html
Over the next two posts, I would like to talk about how those achievements are made.
Life is a journey, and while this journey is meant to be joyful, it can at times be tedious. Young as I am, it has been my observation that most adults in society live a life of dissatisfaction and unfulfillment. Dreams that were once alive and burning bright fizzle away, and we are left with only a longing in our hearts. I hope that, by reading this work, those of you who feel that life has become an empty routine will feel inspired to do something about it, and make a change.
I am convinced that if you honestly answer the questions I will pose to you, and follow the suggestions that I give, you, and any given individual, will gain greater happiness and satisfaction in your life.
So, with that said, here you go; your recipe for happiness and satisfaction.
There is a difference between dreams and goals, and it is of utmost importance that I go over that difference here.
The word dream, strictly defined, means; “something that you have wanted very much to do, be, or have for a long time.” This definition comes from Merriam-Webster.
Goal, on the other hand, also defined by Merriam-Webster, means; “something that you are trying to do or achieve.”
It is very easy to see from these definitions the difference between these two terms. Goals are more specific and concrete, and generally apply to the here and now.
In your job, you might have a goal to get a certain customer to buy a product, or to get the raise that you’re company’s going to give out next month.
You work towards these goals one step at a time. Dreams on the other hand are the things that you’ve thought about doing for some time, and often they are not related to your work at all. Like taking your kids boating one summer when you can afford it, or going on a tour of Europe with your spouse when you have the means.
Dreams are the answers that you give to people when you’re in elementary school and they ask; “what do you want to be when you grow up?”
Goals are the answer that you give people when you’re in college and they ask; “So, what’s your major?”
Let’s go back to the example of elementary school and answer the “what do you want to be when you grow up” question. What would you say when you were a kid? A cowboy? a fireman? A cop? A nurse? A mommy?
As you grew older, how did these dreams change? By the time you were in high school, what would you say when you got asked this same question? I’m willing to bet that, for many of you, what you said when you were a little kid was different from what you said when you were a teenanger. I know that when I was much younger, I wanted to be a scientist/inventor. I had big plans for amazing things that I intended to do with my life.
When I was in 7th grade I participated in my first drama/theater class. I absolutely fell in love with acting. I also discovered that I was good at it. I determined that I would grow up to be an actor. I would set high moral standards for myself and be able to set a good example for people in the film and theater industries.
Then I began to study American history and political science/economics. I determined that, at some point after some time spent in the film and theater industries, I would be a politician and make a difference for our country in the political spectrum.
Now that I’m 16, my ideas of what I want to do have evolved far from what they were when I was younger. I now want to be a public speaker/therapist. I want to show people what to do to find true happiness. I want to liberate the captive. I’m still learning what’s in store for me, but I strongly feel that perhaps this is the center of my life purpose.
When the reality of college/post high school career (depending on what path you took) hit, what happened to the dreams of you childhood and teens? Did you continue to pursue them? Some people do and some people don’t. Some people still see the pursuit of their previous dreams as a worthwhile endeavor, while others decide that their are more practical things to pursue.
While many people start college, a much smaller fraction complete it, and an even smaller fraction go on to graduate school. At some point, whether they have a degree or not, people find themselves engaged in a career that will, perhaps, be the work that they do for the next forty years or so.
I’d like you to take a moment, and look at where you are right now with your career. When you look at the long five day spectrum between Monday morning and Friday evening, what does your heart say? Do you see five days of opportunity and accomplishment, or do you see a five day death march to take a deep breath, and start enduring? When you wake up each weekday morning, what are you thinking? Are you excited to go to work and make a great achievement? Or do you just think to yourself; “Well, here’s goes another day.”
If you’re still a student, like myself, what thoughts do you have as you arise from your bed each morning? Are you ready for another day of learning and growing? Or do you simply stress because you have to suffer through more boring classes, your homework isn’t in order, and you didn’t get enough sleep the night before?
Most Americans, due to this lack in excitement in their lives, get caught up in what I call “Monday-Friday Syndrome.” This syndrome occurs when people see the five day work/school week as a miserable trial that they have to make it through. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love it when Friday rolls around. I love the weekend because of the rest I am able to get and the fun activities that I am able to participate in. But, what a tragedy it is if we aren’t able to find joy during the other five days of our lives.
Human beings are meant to feel fulfilled in life. I can’t think of any worldview that would disagree with that statement. What person doesn’t want to feel fulfilled? It’s part of the human desire to be comfortable that I talked about in last month’s treatise. We have an innate nature that acts as a sort of a vacuum, wanting us to fill it with personal satisfaction.
I believe that the mission of each human should be to fill that vacuum in their own unique way.
When I say, “in their own unique way” I don’t mean that we as humans are free to take whatever course of action we would like without any consequences. I believe in principles, and that violating principles leads to consequences. The point I wish to suggest is that we have our own unique way of accomplishing our own personal missions within a set of principles.
At this point, I would like to address those that may be in a career path that they like. Perhaps you’re even doing the things that you dreamed about when you were younger.
Do you ever feel like there’s something more, just around the corner, waiting for you to get it? Do you always feel like there is another thing to achieve? Like success is just around the next bend? Does it seem that every time you obtain the thing that you have been seeking, something else emerges in the distance for you to chase?
This seems to be a trend particular to business management, though it does occur in other places as well. After you’ve finished school and gotten into the career that you wanted, you start to move towards what is deemed “success.” There’s an opportunity to get a raise, and so you move forward to get it. Or there’s a quota out there to get, and so you work hard and earn it. And each time there’s something else out in the distance that you’re trying to achieve, and every time you achieve it you can’t stop and feel good about yourself because there’s something else to achieve beyond that.
And so, just like a horse with a carrot held out in front of it, you move forward towards success, finding that it just never quite comes.
Too often, this is our idea of life. There’s a great YouTube video called Life and Music that I think illustrates this idea in a very powerful way.
The video comes from the recordings of Alan Watts, 20th Century philosopher, writer and speaker. Watts begins the video by talking about music. He says that the point of a great musical piece is not the end. If it were, the best conductors would be the fastest, the best composers would only write finale’s, and people would go to concerts only to hear one big cymbal crash at the end. But, obviously we don’t have this perception about music. We listen to music to enjoy the entirety of the piece.
Life should be the same way. The point of life is not just the end. Life is like a musical composition that we should enjoy throughout, not just at its conclusion.
Let’s go back to the illustration of the person who always feels like there’s something more to be done in the career world;
While achieving pay raises and quotas and what not is a worthy endeavor, let us not fail to enjoy life as we are achieving those things.
If we fail to do this, we will wake up, at the end of the “piece,” and realize that the best part was not necessarily at the end. Instead of waiting for the “finale” we should have enjoyed the entirety of the composition.
If you feel like you get caught up into this mentality, then is it really accurate to say that you “love” what you’re doing? Or do you just love the so called “results” that supposedly come from what you’re doing which you will never find yourself being satisfied with anyway?
If this accurately describes you, I want to give you this admonition; start to find joy in the here and now. While continuing to progress in whatever it is that you are doing, learn to be happy with what you have.
Should you find this paradigm shift to be difficult, the rest of my “recipe” should prove especially useful.
Let me go back to the “vacuum” idea.
Like I said before, I’ve observed a tragedy amongst many adults, as well as teens (though not as much among teens). This tragedy is the empty feeling that many people feel inside. A symptom of this emptiness is “Monday-Friday Syndrome;” a boring, monotonous routine, of dragging oneself out of bed each weekday morning and staggering off to work/school, managing to survive a very boring day, and returning home in the evening, exhausted, and glad that the day’s work is over. Then all too soon, another day comes and we have to pry our backs off of our mattresses to suffer through reality all over again.
Think back to summer days when you were a kid, playing around without a care in the world. Using your imagination, exploring the world around you, and drinking everything in. There was taste, there was color. You were alive.
Compare that to your life’s routine right now. Do you see in color? can you feel and drink in the world around you? Or is life a tasteless, black and white routine of spending your days doing something that you hate.
I am here to suggest some ways in which these routines may be broken, allowing life and color to be restored. For you see, within each of us lies something very special; an inner genius that gives each of us our identity. This inner genius is the intuition that will allow each of us to fulfill our own unique life purpose.
I believe that everyone, at some point in life, has felt a call coming from their inner genius to learn something, to do something, to be something.
This goes back to what I said earlier about the things that you dreamed about doing when you were a kid, a teenager, and a young adult. Often, your genius happens to tie into what you’re passionate about.
You have probably felt the call of this genius come a time or two in your life. Maybe it was while you were in high school and got involved with an amazing extra curricular activity. Maybe you were starting college, and needed to decide what to major in, and you felt some sort of affinity towards a given option. Or maybe it happened when someone you know started their own business and you thought; “I wish I could do that and get out of the job I’m in.”
Perhaps you felt this genius calling you when you met an adult while you were growing up that had a certain career that appealed to you. I know that my desire to be a speaker/therapist has been cultivated because of adults that I know who do those things as a profession. In a more general sense, my desire to grow into a public figure, advocating achievement, educational reform, and other societal reforms has been fueled because of the many different mentors that I’ve had who are doing such things in the world.
Regardless of where it comes from, at some point in life we feel ourselves called to do something special. The “something” special will be different for each of us. Our purpose will be discovered when we move forward towards the “something.” Once we start on that path, the vacuum within each of us will begin to be filled.
I submit to you that if your vacuum does not feel filled it is quite possible that you are moving in the opposite direction of your purpose. Or maybe you are not moving at all.
I’m sure that you’ve felt this purpose calling you at some point in your life. My observations tell me that humans, generally speaking, are attracted to the idea of having a purpose because it gives meaning to our lives.
I have a purpose. You have a purpose. Everyone has a purpose. If you don’t think you have a purpose then you probably shouldn’t be reading my blog. It will not be worth your while because my writings are geared towards people that are interested in making something of their lives, and if you don’t have a purpose, why make anything of life?
To conclude this section, before I move on to the next one, I would like to pose the following questions:
- What dreams do you have that you would like to see fulfilled?
- Do you find joy in what you’re doing? or is life a colorless routine?
- Are you happy with what you have now? or is life an endless cycle of chasing after something, never quite content with what you have?
- What is your purpose/inner genius?
- What calls are you receiving right now?
Consider taking some time to pray or meditate/think about these questions. I suggest that you write the answers you receive down.
Now that we’ve identified what your purpose is, and the calls that you are receiving, let’s talk a little bit about how we’re going to use this information to fill our internal vacuum’s.
If possible (and if included in your call), it is good in most cases to make your livelihood the fulfillment of your purpose. If your purpose is to raise up great minds for the future, maybe your livelihood would be teaching high school students.
If you’re like me, and your purpose is to help people who are hurting, and set bond people free, your livelihood might be counseling/training other people as to how they can improve their lives and gain more personal satisfaction and happiness.
Often, we describe what I’ve just talked about as “doing what you love.” Many times, this description fits very well, yet at other times it does not. You see, as I have stated many times already, the end goal of each person in life should be to fulfill their purpose. Therefore, you should not do anything that detracts you from fulfilling that purpose. If “doing what you love” for a living distracts you from that purpose, then you are on the wrong track.
This is not to say that wholesome passions should not be pursued. For would we not agree that part of our purpose of being here is to find healthy enjoyment? Here’s an example;
I love ballroom dance, and it is something that I invest some of my time in. But, is it my main focus in school right now? Absolutely not. In fact, I only spend one hour, out of a 40+ hour school week doing it. When I grow up, will it be what I do to make a living? Probably not. Will I still dance? Sure. An occasional date with my wife to a dance hall, or chaperoning a youth dance with her will definitely be something I do. I will still be pursuing the passion I have for ballroom, but that doesn’t mean that I will be making a living off of it.
We should find enjoyment in our passions, that is part of our fulfillment on this earth. In addition, if at all possible, we should choose what we do for a profession based on what our purpose is, and moving towards it.
In some cases however, it is not necessary to have your purpose be one and the same with your livelihood. A good example of this would be a religious minister that works full time at some standard job, and then on Sundays, or whenever he is needed, attends to his ministry.
Now we come to the “how” to fulfill your purpose. In my next treatise, I will go into greater depth as to the specific steps that we should take to fulfilling our purpose. For right now however, I wish to focus on the more emotional and intuitive aspects of achieving our purposes.
This past summer, I chose to keep myself busy to completing the necessary requirements to earn my Eagle Scout Award. I chose to get this award because for years, since I became a Boy Scout 5 1/2 years ago actually, I have felt it “calling” me. There were some underlying purposes behind that call, not the least of which is the fact that I could not start learning how to drive until I had earned it.
This endeavour taught me allot about the value of patience when it comes to achievement. I had to hold on throughout the summer, and keep working the plan that I had created for myself to achieve the award . My scout leaders probably wondered off and on if I was actually doing the right things to get the award and sometimes I wondered that myself.
It was very difficult. But I kept moving. Here’s why; the knowledge that, when the summer was over and I had the award, I would be able to get back into my normal school routine of doing things that I love and not have to worry at all about getting my Eagle kept me going. In turn, I would not have to worry about driving because I would be able to start learning how to do it.
I found this to be the case. Now that I’m back in school, and my Eagle requirements are all done, I can spend each week in a normal routine, doing the things that I enjoy, instead of having to suffer through monotonous requirements. Additionally, I am learning how to drive as well,
I only got here because I believed in myself.
As you move forward on the path to achieving your dreams, and fulfilling your purpose, opposition will be experienced. Much good exists in the world today, but much evil exists too. And nobody that has taken a look around at the world recently needs an expert to tell them that the evil in this world is working hard to stop the good.
It is only logical to assume that we will experience great opposition as we try to fulfill our dreams.
Last month, I published a post about a very influential man. His name was Thomas Paine, and he it was that inspired the American Colonists to support the idea of independence from Great Britain through the publication of the best selling pamphlet Common Sense. If you would like to hear a little bit more about Thomas Paine, the great things that he did, check out my post about him through this link; http://teenagephilosoper.blogspot.com/2014/10/thomas-paine-power-of-pen.html
In addition to Common Sense, there is another way in which he contributed to the American Revolution which he is much less known for. That was the publication of a very inspiring little work entitled The American Crisis #1. Paine wrote this little paper for the American people.
George Washington had lost the Battle of Long Island against the British earlier in the year 1776, and was camped with his men in Valley Forge for the winter. They were cold, hungry, and fatigued. Some of Washington’s men found themselves without shoes. He watched as these men wrapped rags around their feet instead, and then begin to walk, leaving foot prints of blood behind them in the snow.
Washington’s army looked defeated, and the British army looked triumphant.
Hope seemed lost for the American’s. You can imagine what the American patriots at the time felt like as the watched their hero Washington retreat into the valley defeated. They then watched as Washington’s men sat hungry, cold, and dying.
Paine, knowing the power that he could exhibit over others with the pen, set to work to rekindle the American flame of courage and belief.
These are Paine’s words, taken from the beginning of the American Crisis #1;
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.
What a beautiful paragraph. Pain understood a principle that is key to achieving the dreams that we have. The principle is that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.
When people are on the path to achieving their dreams they often find themselves in the shoes of the American’s of Paine’s time. Opposition has sent us away in defeat. We feel hurt and ashamed. And the odd’s of obtaining victory look completely impossible.
It is times like these in which we must remember that “these are the times that try men’s souls.” The summertime achiever, and the sunshine dreamer will, in these crises, shrink from the fulfillment of their purpose; but he that stands it than, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Opposition, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as success should not be highly rated.
Consider the lives of people like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, Helen Keller, and Abraham Lincoln. These people became successful, not because of some inherent gift, or because of luck, but because they understood what Thomas Paine was trying to convey.
Furthermore, they had intense opposition against what they were doing, but that didn’t stop them.
Before I conclude I would like to address a certain group among my readers that are probably thinking something along the lines of; “Dallin’s just a naive 16-year-old. He doesn’t understand life yet. It’s great of you can do what you love and fulfill some big “purpose,” but sometimes it just doesn’t work that way. Sometimes, you’re one of those unlucky people that end up with a job that sucks. That’s life for some of us and there’s no way out.”
This is a good point to make because, for many people, it seems a reality. But, despite that, I know that you can take what I have said into your life and change your situation to accomplish your purpose if necessary. Remember, the key thing that allows you to accomplish your purpose isn’t always synonymous with your livelihood. Sometimes it happens on the side, like the example I shared of religious leaders who work full-time at standard jobs and preach on Sundays.
But, as happens in many of the cases I have seen, fulfilling our purpose can go hand in hand with providing livelihood.
I have just one such story to share with you. It’s about an ordinary American. He grew up and went through grade school and high school. Then he went to college, graduating with an master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science.
In 2002, he started as an intern for a division of Xerox Corporation. In 2003 he got a job with Wohl Capital Management as a hedge fund analyst. Later one, he would do this same job for Connective Capital Management.
Thus far, we see the default American life of growing up, going to school, and getting a job to provide for ourselves and our families.
But, the same year that this man started to work for Wohl Capital Management, he also started to tutor his cousin in mathematics online using Yahoo!’s doodle pad. This was, obviously, something extra, and on the side, that he did. Seemingly, he was also enjoying it.
But, word started to get around his family and friends that he was doing this online tutoring, and soon others were asking for his tutoring services. Because of this popular demand, he decided that it would be practical to create tutoring videos and put them on YouTube for everyone to see.
He created his YouTube account on November 16, 2006.
This man’s name was Sal Khan, and his little YouTube channel would prove to be the beginning on one of the most successful private educational programs of all time.
In 2009, he decided to quit his job as a hedge fund analyst and start running his educational video program full time. While consulting his wife on the matter he told her that it was the “highest social return that one could ever get.”
This, my friends, is the story of the creation of the famous Khan Academy, an online educational program that students all over the world are able to use free of charge. Included in this group of students is your’s truly.
In just a few years, Khan’s videos had received more than 458 million views. He uses a concise, practical, and relaxed teaching method that has attracted me, and other countless students worldwide to his services.
I would like to share a quote here from Khan’s Wikipedia article that I think is very powerful in conveying the purpose that he has found; “Khan outlined his mission as to ‘accelerate learning for students of all ages. With this in mind, we want to share our content with whoever may find it useful. Khan also plans to extend his ‘free school’ to cover topics such as English. Programs are being undertaken to use Khan's videos to teach those in isolated areas of Africa and Asia. He delineated his motives: ‘With so little effort on my own part, I can empower an unlimited amount of people for all time. I can't imagine a better use of my time.’ "
Wow! That my friends is a life worth living, and that is a purpose being fulfilled.
But, Sal Khan is an ordinary individual, just like you and me. He had a standard education, and he had an ordinary job. But, he discovered an inner-genius, and he let that guide him to a valuable life purpose.
So what does this mean for you and me? Opportunity is out there. More importantly, it is out there for ordinary individuals like me and you. You can’t make excuses, and you can’t be a victim of circumstance. History shows us example after example of men and women who came from ordinary, and even less-than ordinary circumstances who created successful lives for themselves and fulfilled their purposes because they took initiative.
You were born into life with a purpose, and a reason for living. It doesn’t matter what kind of life circumstance you’re in right now, I know that you can accomplish that purpose. If you were born with a purpose, you can bet that the Universe will give you a way in which to accomplish it. If you couldn’t accomplish it, do you think it would have been given to you?
Achievement; that’s what makes up history, and that’s the only way for the vacuum’s inside each of us to be fulfilled.
Next time, I’ll go over some hands on, concrete ways that I’ve developed that can be used to accomplish the goals that we set so that these achievements can actually be made.
Until then, go, and find out what your purpose in life is. Once you’ve found it, begin working to achieve it, and don’t give up, no matter what the cost.
Thank you for reading,
Dallin D. Shumway
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