The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose to Your Life

by Chris Guillebeau

Dissatisfaction + Big Idea + Willingness to Take Action = New Adventure

Embracing new things often requires us to embrace our fears, however trivial they may seem. You deal with fear not by pretending it doesn’t exist, but by refusing to give it decision-making authority.

Once you’re near the end, there’s no time for bullshit. But what if you decided there’s no time for bullshit—or regrets—far in advance of the end? What if you vow to live life the way you want right now, regardless of what stage of life you’re in?

You must believe that your quest can be successful, even if no one else does. You can deal with setbacks, misadventures, and even disasters as long as you still believe you can overcome the hardships and see your way to the end.

You have to believe in your quest even if others don’t.

Every good goal has a deadline

Dying for something is heroic.

But living for something can be mundane—and therefore far more sacrificial, because seldom does anyone else notice.

Genuinely living for something, day after day, is much more valuable than looking for the blaze of glory at the end.

What’s worth living for? matters more than What’s worth dying for?

Be afraid of settling.

If you’re going to worry about something, worry about the cost of not pursuing your dream.

Why pursue a quest? Because each of us in our lives is writing our own story, and we only have one chance to get it right.