“Existence is a series of footnotes to a vast, obscure, unfinished masterpiece.” — Vladimir Nabokov
“Existence is a fullness which we can never abandon.” — Jean Paul Sartre
“Joy can only be real if people look upon their life as a service and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness.” — Leo Tolstoy
“You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” — Albert Camus
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” — Howard Thurman
[@niebuhrIronyAmericanHistory2010]
“Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.”
[@pressfieldWarArtBreak2003]
“None of us are born as passive generic blobs waiting for the world to stamp its imprint on us. Instead we show up possessing already a highly refined and individuated soul. Another way of thinking of it is: We’re not born with unlimited choices. We can’t be anything we want to be. We come into this world with a specific, personal destiny. We have a job to do, a calling to enact, a self to become. We are who we are from the cradle, and we’re stuck with it. Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.” — Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
“It’s more important to be good ancestors than dutiful descendants. Too many people spend their lives being custodians of the past instead of stewards of the future. We worry about making our parents proud when we should be focused on making our children proud. The responsibility of each generation is not to please our predecessors—it’s to improve conditions for our successors.” ― Adam M. Grant, Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things
[@franklMansSearchMeaning2006]
by Viktor Frankl
意義治療法（Logotherapy
“The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent, but if we can come to terms with this indifference, then our existence as a species can have genuine meaning. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.” — Stanley Kubrick
Playboy: If life is so purposeless, do you feel that it’s worth living?
Kubrick: Yes, for those of us who manage somehow to cope with our mortality. The very meaninglessness of life forces man to create his own meaning.
Children, of course, begin life with an untarnished sense of wonder, a capacity to experience total joy at something as simple as the greenness of a leaf; but as they grow older, the awareness of death and decay begins to impinge on their consciousness and subtly erode their joie de vivre, their idealism — and their assumption of immortality.
As a child matures, he sees death and pain everywhere about him, and begins to lose faith in the ultimate goodness of man. But if he’s reasonably strong — and lucky — he can emerge from this twilight of the soul into a rebirth of life’s élan.
Both because of and in spite of his awareness of the meaninglessness of life, he can forge a fresh sense of purpose and affirmation. He may not recapture the same pure sense of wonder he was born with, but he can shape something far more enduring and sustaining.
The most terrifying fact of the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death — however mutable man may be able to make them — our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment.
However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.
“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” — Aristotle
“Some goals are not meant to be reached, they give you a direction to strive towards.” — Bruce Lee> “Purpose and desire can seem similar, but they are very different, sometimes even opposing forces. Desire is personal, narrow, and pointed, and tends toward self-preservation, self-gratification, and short-term gains and pleasures. Purpose is wider, broader, a longer-term vision encompassing the benefit of others—something outside of yourself you’re willing to fight for. There have been many times in my life where I was acting from a place of desire but I’d fully convinced myself that it was purpose. Desire is what you want; purpose is the flowering of what you are. Desire tends to weaken over time, whereas purpose strengthens the more you lean into it. Desire can be depleting because it’s insatiable; purpose is empowering—it’s a stronger engine. Purpose has a way of contextualizing life’s unavoidable sufferings and making them meaningful and worthwhile. As Viktor Frankl wrote, “In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.” ― Will Smith, Will
The purpose of life is a life of purpose.
= Life’s Highest Calling = Life Purpose/Mission/Meaning/Aspirations = Core Values/Philosophies/Principles = Life Truth North / North Star = Dharma = ikigai = plan de vida = 人生使命 = 個人天職/命
工作的台語翻成中文的意思是「空缺」，提醒我們：這個社會中都有那個專屬於我們的位置，只是需要我們去發現、發掘。
[@XiaoYeZhu.YouXieShiZheXieNianWoCaiDongXiaoYeDeRenShengSiKao2012]
大多數人是不知道自己爲何而活的，甚至於也不知道自己要什麼。他們等著別人來指點迷津。」我的朋友楊德昌導演生前最常這樣說：「所以我們要拍電影給他們看，讓他們知道，每天都是全新的一天，有著各式各樣的可能，作出自己的選擇，找到自己相信的東西，勇敢活下去。」
Missions are infinite. Goals are finite.
“Some goals are not meant to be reached, they give you a direction to strive towards.” — Bruce Lee
- You never reach a Mission, you live out a Mission.
- Missions are life journey, with no specific ends.
- Missions are directions/scope of life, not the destination of life.
- Mission statements usually (and should) sound like vague platitudes.
- Goals are focused around discrete achievements, with specific ends.
“If you’re not making someone else’s life better, then you’re wasting your time. Your life will become better by making other lives better.” ― Will Smith
Leo Tolstoy emphasizes the importance of viewing life as a service with a purpose beyond personal happiness. He suggests that joy emerges when individuals dedicate themselves to something larger than their own self-interest.
Albert Camus argues that seeking a singular meaning of life can hinder truly living. His existential perspective implies that life itself is an ongoing journey without an ultimate destination or fixed meaning. Camus encourages embracing the present and finding significance in everyday experiences rather than searching for an overarching purpose.
“The best way to overcome the fear of death — so at least it seems to me — is to make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal, until bit by bit the walls of the ego recede, and your life becomes increasingly merged in the universal life.” — Bertrand Russell
- ⭐️ Not to find the meaning of life, but to use your life to create things that are meaningful.
- Find something much bigger and more important than you are, and dedicate your life to it. 1
- Fulfillment is found through connection to something greater than the self.
- The 3 Big Questions
- The “1 Thing” Question: If you had to boil life down to one truth or philosophy that makes life valuable, what is it?
- The “Being” Question: How does that 1 Thing impact your being? In other words, how does it shape the core of who you are and your character?
- The “Doing” Question: How does that 1 Thing impact your doing? In other words, how does it shape what you do with your life?
3 Heuristics for a Fulfilling Life
“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” — Michelangelo
- Big ambitions
- High standards
- Low expectations
Successful people don’t have a career, they have a mission. Most of them are terrible procrastinators and find it almost impossible to make themselves do anything they’re not genuinely interested in.
The sad part is, that I will probably end up loving you without you for much longer than I loved you when I knew you. Some people might find that strange. But the truth of it is that the amount of love you feel for someone and the impact they have on you as a person, is in no way relative to the amount of time you have known them.” — Ranata Suzuki
“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” — Thomas Campbell
“(It’s true that) none of us will get to live forever(, but) none of the people who die are gone. They’re with us every day. I once heard a pastor at a church say that they’re like ships sailing out of the harbor. Yes, at some point, as they get past the horizon, we can’t see them anymore. But that doesn’t mean they’re gone. I don’t think we ever lose the people who pass away. They stay with us every day, in our memories, but also in the way they shaped our lives.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger
“No one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away, until the clock wound up winds down, until the wine she made has finished its ferment, until the crop they planted is harvested. The span of someone’s life is only the core of their actual existence.” — Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man
The great use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it. To be remembered by people is to live forever.
Hunter S. Thompson’s Letter on Finding Life Purpose
The S.H.A.P.E. Assessment is a self-discovery tool used primarily in Christian contexts to help individuals understand how God has uniquely designed them for service, purpose, and contribution within the church and broader community. The acronym S.H.A.P.E. stands for Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences, offering a framework to discern one’s unique qualities, passions, and strengths. By reflecting on these five areas, individuals can identify their God-given purpose and discover how they can best serve others meaningfully and effectively.
| Letter | Stands for | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| S | Spiritual Gifts | What spiritual gifts or talents has God given you? (e.g., teaching, mercy, leadership) |
| H | Heart | What are you passionate about? What causes or activities deeply move you? |
| A | Abilities | What natural talents, skills, or learned competencies do you have? |
| P | Personality | How do you interact with others? Are you introverted, extroverted, structured, spontaneous? |
| E | Experiences | What life experiences (good and bad) have shaped who you are today? |
Maslow’s Hierarchy/Pyramid of Needs
#TODO Existential Crisis
Everyone is on their own timeline