One of my clients had set a goal in mind , to get a million followers in a defined period. And I told him that is the wrong place to begin.

Why do we do anything , why do we exist , what is the purpose of it all , these are mans deepest questions . Business or career is not distinct from life , it is part of life , it is where we spend most of our time of waking hours once we get past school and college. Yet we see them as distinct compartments. I see life progress in three stages .

If I look back at my own life the three stages I experienced are :

1. Clean Slate : The early years of life are like a clean slate . Nothing is written , and then impressions are formed , by parents , by family , by society , by the education system . What was a clean slate full of possibilities , gets restricted , the open space shrinks . We get defined , what we can do , what we cannot do , what is possible , what is not possible .

The school , the college , everything defines us , we have to be hammered with education and information to fit in , to be part of the crowd. The clean slate slowly gets filled up , possibilities and dreams are killed.

2. The World : We are told now its time to get serious . Till a stage in life we are sheltered by our parents and then we suddenly go out into the world . The period of learning at school and college is over , now we are told yo enter the real world . Finding a career , making money and then more money , running after fame and power , looking for approval .

This is the phase of being on a treadmill that does not have a stop button.

3. Before the End : At some stage the realisation sets in that the pursuit of happiness is an illusion that is shattered by death. We know that all this life as we know it will end some day , we look back at memories . Studies of people at end of life have found that one of the things that most people regret is not having lived their life fully , not having taken the risks , they played safe and chose to follow the crowd .

We see it and yet we do not see it. Before we know the game is over. It’s too late .

So why am I sharing this in #passionproject , because I feel we need to wake up . We do not have unlimited time on the planet earth, we are travellers here . Asking the deeper questions adds meaning to life , to everyday , it is the reason why we wake up every morning.

FREEDOM : When I peel down the layers I find that the deepest desire we all have is for freedom , freedom to live life on our own terms , freedom to find and live expression for our unique gifts , freedom to live from possibility .

CONTRIBUTION : Before we leave this planet , did we make any difference , we were all born with a unique gift . Did we contribute with our gifts ? Did we sing our song .

PASSION : What is that one thing that we are passionate about , that does not feel like work , that we can keep doing whether it is a weekend or a weekday. If we focus on our passion and become the best at something, not in comparison to others but simply perfect our art whatever that maybe we will be deeply fulfilled.

When everyone is running on a treadmill, it is important to pause , get off the treadmill, step back and ask the deeper questions . Don’t just live , but live a meaningful life. You don’t begin with aiming for a number, you begin with asking “Am I singing my song ? and am I having fun on the journey?”

#passionproject

Sanjay Mudnaney