How to Make Meaning In the World?

What I liked most about The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki is by far the valuable lesson that Guy teach young entrepreneurs like myself. I think by alleviating what every entrepreneur feel (the fear of failure) not only makes this book valuable tool but, one that every entrepreneur should utilize. What I liked the most is the concept of GIST (Great Ideas For Starting Things). GIST are tools that most people do not know about and as a result are bound to failure. Ignorance is by far man’s greatest downfall. What we do know now has the potential to hurt us later on down the road. I think for me this is what makes me different from other entrepreneurs in the events planning industry.
Do not get me wrong—there are people within my industry that has made it. However, in my opinion it was just sheer dumb luck. I think in order to make meaning in the world, one has to fist make a meaning for themselves. In blatant terms, if you do not know what you want to do in life how do you expect to make the world better. The average person goes about life thinking that they can better the world by doing fifty different thing, but most do not realize the state of their own lives. They forsake one thing to better the world never realizing that they are adding to the problem not helping to extinguish it.
In terms of making meaning for one’s self, I think my meaning comes from a variety of things. Firstly, I think I draw my inspiration from my passion for life and family. I love to dream and make other’s dreams come true. This is why I choose events planning (specializing in weddings). Weddings in today’s society are taken for granted in more ways than one. Most weddings are view in terms of its splendor rather than the meanings that are associated with it. I think this how I intend to make the world better--by instilled the original values along with the splendor that is associated with today’s weddings and other events carrying special meanings.
I grew up with very specific values of what marriages is all about. Growing up in a Guyanese-Indian household, I was taught that marriage is very sacred and that it was unbreakable because every pair was made in heaven. (I guess you can call me a hopeless romantic.) Anyways, as I grew up I kept believing this and I think in some part of my mind this is still in play. How will I make the world better—I intend to combine my personality strengths (achiever, relator, focus, woo, and input) [1] along with the values that marriage contains to enhance whatever events I plan. I feel when couples who are tying the knot, it should be for all the right reasons. For this reason, I want to combine my services with the values of marriage to make my client’s weddings and events something that they dream about and not what they just settle for last minute. By keeping this or a similar ideology and customer value this is how business men and women are going to make the world better for us all—and like Guys states, “preventing the end of something good.”

[1] These personality strengths were the result of reading: Buckingham M. and Clifton D. O., Now, Discover Your Strengths. After finishing the book I used the code provided by the distributor to do the Strength Finder’s Test.

The Meaning of LIfe--An Entreprenuer's Interpratation

As I sit on the train and contemplate the meaning of life on my way home from work, there is so much going through my minds. Life has so many mysterious meanings both good and bad. Everyone’s perception of the meaning of life is different according to his or her lifestyle(s) and individual personalities. For me though, I cannot put a definite answer to the meaning of life. I do think life is about being fortunate enough to give back what God as given you. Life is about chances and opportunities. However, it is what the individual does with those chances and opportunities that really makes the difference in this world.
Sure, life takes us down its bumpy roads and beat us until we can't bear its hardship anymore, but the only thing a person can do is dust himself off and continue down the same road life has shown us. My life for example endured a lot of bumps, yet I am still traveling down life’s roads and making the best of what I have. Someone I know always says, life is like a river that carries many streams, sometimes it may comes at you light, medium, and or even hard. However, whether you sink or swim it all depends on your choices. Life gives us path along its road and the individual build his or her destiny by taking careful steps and enduring whatever comes your way. No matter what the individual makes of his or her life, it all depends on that person. In other words, what you bring to the table is what you get—or what influences your life. When you bring positive attitude, self-confidence and determination then there is no way that you can fail. However, when you bring only negativity, uncertainty, and dishonesty then you are most likely setting yourself up for failure.
In terms of materialism, life is based on the ideology that it does not matter how much you have or what you have. It is simply based on the actions of the individual(s) involved. Good actions equal a good life and bad actions result in a bad life. Being able to give someone something without seeking anything in return is a prime example in this case. Many people feel that the more you have the richer you are—generally this is not the case. A person may have a lot of money and wealth but they may be the most miserable person in the world. In terms of life, what is money when you have no happiness?
On a personal note, I think the meaning of my life is about using the resources that friends and loved ones has given you to become successful in this world. I feel that they have given you a ‘chance’ to be someone. Hence, when I become someone of status, then I too will give an opportunity to someone else. Life in my opinion is about shaping your destiny and whatever decision you take to attain that destiny is influenced by your environment, your loved ones, you religion, and everything else that matters to you.

With that note, what do you think is the meaning of life?