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It's quite inspiring to see a real goal and drive towards it. Purpose is so hard to come by now because we all don't know what we want. When we do know, we're

It's quite inspiring to see a real goal and drive towards it. Purpose is so hard to come by now because we all don't know what we want. When we do know, we're constantly unsure about it. Such a clear goal makes it easy to have greater purpose that you don't second guess. This isn't a scheme to get rich, a zero sum political movement, or a narcissistic artistic endeavor. It's pretty unique there. There's that whole danger of a cult of personality but the project is bearing fruit.

deleted 7y ago
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grecy 7y ago
> Purpose is so hard to come by now because we all don't know what we want. When we do know, we're constantly unsure about it. This statement resonates deeply with me. Whenever I meet someone new or that I might be interested in dating I ask "What are you doing with your life?" or "What are you striving for?" and I find the extreme majority of people don't have an answer beyond "I just go to a job I don't really like" It seems very few people are seriously driven and motivated and living a life where they're pushing hard to achieve something great.
- StaticRedux 7y ago
  Why do they have to? I have that drive, but my wife is perfectly happy with a calm, comfortable, stress-free life. And in fact it helps to bring me back down to Earth sometimes also. There's nothing wrong with wanting a life that free. In fact it's oftentimes admirable. Especially at times when I'm wound so tight I feel like I could pop. If you're choosing a partner based solely on whether they want to be the next Elon Musk or not, you're doing yourself a serious disservice. And if you really ask those questions to every potential date, you should stop, because dude, wtf?
  - airstrike 7y ago
    > Why do they have to? Not speaking about (or judging!) anyone individually, but because if none of us did, we'd still be living in caves. Or, more likely, be extinct. The reason all of us are having this conversation now is because many people before us had purpose and built something
    - StaticRedux 7y ago
      The question posed was why do they Have to? Not why Should they. Of course we need people driven to move society forward. But there is a stigma in modern society it seems around people who are perfectly happy being who they are and not "striving to be great". And that's ridiculous. The previous poster asks all his potential dates, with what seems to be a fairly heavy helping of disdain for the "wrong answer", what their plan to change the world is. Why does it matter? You go change the world. Let your spouse or your friends or your colleagues be content with not changing the world and just be happy living in it.
      - airstrike 7y ago
        I'm not saying this is wrong or right, but perhaps some people feel everyone has a duty to do something meaningful to push society forward, otherwise they are essentially free-riding on everyone else's sacrifices. And that something may very well be as broad a goal as "do your very best, everyday". Sure, you can't force people to see the world through that same lens, but you can certainly pick partners based on traits which you admire, ambition / grit presumably being one of such traits.
  - jimbokun 7y ago
    Why are you dictating what other people should look for in a partner?
    - StaticRedux 7y ago
      I'm not. I'm just judging him for doing so. Which is wrong. I shouldn't have phrased it like that. I guess that stigma in society around people who are perfectly happy being happy and don't feel the need to "be great" is sensitive to me because my wife constantly receives a lot of crap for it. So you be you, previous poster. Just don't look down on others who don't want to change the world.
  - grecy 7y ago
    > Why do they have to? Wow, I think you really misunderstood me. I'm not saying anyone has to do anything, I just said it's really inspiring to see people that are passionate, and are driven and motivated about something. And I want people like that in my life. I'm not saying I want an Elon Musk for a partner, I'm saying it's inspiring, and I'm drawn to people that actually have a purpose and a reason to get out of bed, and they're striving for something. Maybe it's take a month off to ski tour around Mt. Logan this spring. Maybe it's sail around the Northwest passage, or maybe it's learning a new language. Maybe it's getting up early every day to do Yoga. Anything, really. I'm just saying I feel like a lot of people these days have nothing that they're striving for. They just go to work, and go home, and aren't even particularly happy about it. If you asked them what the point is they don't even have an answer. If you ask them what they will have achieved in 5 or 10 years, they have nothing. They're not even trying to do anything. > Especially at times when I'm wound so tight I feel like I could pop. It's a mistake to think that to be driven and passionate and motivated about something also means you have to be wound tightly. I've never spent time with anyone that is wound tightly, and I can't imagine how difficult that would be. EDIT: Replying to your comment lower down - I absolutely DO NOT ever ask anyone what their plan to change the world is, and I never said anything like that above. I ask them what they're passionate about, and what they're striving towards. That doesn't have to be change the world.
- dint 7y ago
  I think this is what inspires me about spacex/musk, too. I'm not convinced there's a rational, utilitarian justification for settling Mars. But is there anything wrong with doing it solely for the purpose of having a grand purpose in the face of infinite uncertainty and doubt?
- AnatolyPetrova 7y ago
  It's definitely very difficult. I'm striving to learn a new language,improve at chess and olympic weightlifting but that's a much lower level of purpose than building spaceships to reach Mars. I hope that I can find something in my career that fuels a burning desire like some of the SpaceX employees
  - grecy 7y ago
    > I'm striving to learn a new language, improve at chess and olympic weightlifting Not that my opinion matters, but I think those are fantastic goals to strive for. If it's making you happy to challenge yourself, go for it! THAT is exactly the purpose I'm talking about vs. someone that doesn't try at anything and doesn't have any idea what they'd like to do, or achieve, or improve in the next 10 years. > I hope that I can find something in my career that fuels a burning desire like some of the SpaceX employees I've accepted I won't find that kind of career, so I to do it in my outside life (like you are!)
- Crolle 7y ago
  To live with such kind of drive implies sacrifices not everyone is ready to make. Being all-in also means that you'll miss on other aspects of life.
nixpulvis 7y ago
> It's quite inspiring to see a real goal and drive towards it. I'm throughly uninspired... As a friend of mine once said: "progress when you're going the wrong direction, is turning around". The idea that we'll settle Mars while the Earth burns in borderline sinister. It reminds me of the elite outpost from Kingsman (the movie). We have a planet that is in dire need of this kind of motivated action, and yet Elon would rather be distracted by this dream. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate the "cool" factor of expanding to other planets. I too enjoy a good science fiction story. Who wouldn't want to escape the problems we've inherited, and proliferated. But escapism solves nothing for "us", and it's foolish to think Mars is anything else. If we as humans can't live on Earth responsibly, we frankly don't deserve to exist at all. (Perhaps we should pull a Titan A.E., and preserve some DNA in the vast wasteland of space. Just in case an alien species decides to give us another go)
- anthonypasq 7y ago
  sigh... there are plenty of reasons humanity should be multi-planetary other than escaping climate change.
  - nixpulvis 7y ago
    Feel free to elaborate. I suspect any reasons you'll come up with are all still less urgent than the needs of our Earth. I've heard the argument about learning to control the climate through taraforming (or whatever you want to call it), but I'm completely unconvinced that is an efficient method. I'd be willing to be convinced otherwise, but I'm very skeptical.
    - m4rtink 7y ago
      Once even a minuscule fraction of the resources of the Solar System become available you can solve all terrestrial problems once and for all. Space & Solar System is big and has a lot of resources, much much more than what is available in on a terrestrial planet.
      - deleted 7y ago

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

grecy 7y ago

> Purpose is so hard to come by now because we all don't know what we want. When we do know, we're constantly unsure about it. This statement resonates deeply with me. Whenever I meet someone new or that I might be interested in dating I ask "What are you doing with your life?" or "What are you striving for?" and I find the extreme majority of people don't have an answer beyond "I just go to a job I don't really like" It seems very few people are seriously driven and motivated and living a life where they're pushing hard to achieve something great.

StaticRedux 7y ago
Why do they have to? I have that drive, but my wife is perfectly happy with a calm, comfortable, stress-free life. And in fact it helps to bring me back down to Earth sometimes also. There's nothing wrong with wanting a life that free. In fact it's oftentimes admirable. Especially at times when I'm wound so tight I feel like I could pop. If you're choosing a partner based solely on whether they want to be the next Elon Musk or not, you're doing yourself a serious disservice. And if you really ask those questions to every potential date, you should stop, because dude, wtf?
- airstrike 7y ago
  > Why do they have to? Not speaking about (or judging!) anyone individually, but because if none of us did, we'd still be living in caves. Or, more likely, be extinct. The reason all of us are having this conversation now is because many people before us had purpose and built something
  - StaticRedux 7y ago
    The question posed was why do they Have to? Not why Should they. Of course we need people driven to move society forward. But there is a stigma in modern society it seems around people who are perfectly happy being who they are and not "striving to be great". And that's ridiculous. The previous poster asks all his potential dates, with what seems to be a fairly heavy helping of disdain for the "wrong answer", what their plan to change the world is. Why does it matter? You go change the world. Let your spouse or your friends or your colleagues be content with not changing the world and just be happy living in it.
    - airstrike 7y ago
      I'm not saying this is wrong or right, but perhaps some people feel everyone has a duty to do something meaningful to push society forward, otherwise they are essentially free-riding on everyone else's sacrifices. And that something may very well be as broad a goal as "do your very best, everyday". Sure, you can't force people to see the world through that same lens, but you can certainly pick partners based on traits which you admire, ambition / grit presumably being one of such traits.
- jimbokun 7y ago
  Why are you dictating what other people should look for in a partner?
  - StaticRedux 7y ago
    I'm not. I'm just judging him for doing so. Which is wrong. I shouldn't have phrased it like that. I guess that stigma in society around people who are perfectly happy being happy and don't feel the need to "be great" is sensitive to me because my wife constantly receives a lot of crap for it. So you be you, previous poster. Just don't look down on others who don't want to change the world.
- grecy 7y ago
  > Why do they have to? Wow, I think you really misunderstood me. I'm not saying anyone has to do anything, I just said it's really inspiring to see people that are passionate, and are driven and motivated about something. And I want people like that in my life. I'm not saying I want an Elon Musk for a partner, I'm saying it's inspiring, and I'm drawn to people that actually have a purpose and a reason to get out of bed, and they're striving for something. Maybe it's take a month off to ski tour around Mt. Logan this spring. Maybe it's sail around the Northwest passage, or maybe it's learning a new language. Maybe it's getting up early every day to do Yoga. Anything, really. I'm just saying I feel like a lot of people these days have nothing that they're striving for. They just go to work, and go home, and aren't even particularly happy about it. If you asked them what the point is they don't even have an answer. If you ask them what they will have achieved in 5 or 10 years, they have nothing. They're not even trying to do anything. > Especially at times when I'm wound so tight I feel like I could pop. It's a mistake to think that to be driven and passionate and motivated about something also means you have to be wound tightly. I've never spent time with anyone that is wound tightly, and I can't imagine how difficult that would be. EDIT: Replying to your comment lower down - I absolutely DO NOT ever ask anyone what their plan to change the world is, and I never said anything like that above. I ask them what they're passionate about, and what they're striving towards. That doesn't have to be change the world.
dint 7y ago
I think this is what inspires me about spacex/musk, too. I'm not convinced there's a rational, utilitarian justification for settling Mars. But is there anything wrong with doing it solely for the purpose of having a grand purpose in the face of infinite uncertainty and doubt?
AnatolyPetrova 7y ago
It's definitely very difficult. I'm striving to learn a new language,improve at chess and olympic weightlifting but that's a much lower level of purpose than building spaceships to reach Mars. I hope that I can find something in my career that fuels a burning desire like some of the SpaceX employees
- grecy 7y ago
  > I'm striving to learn a new language, improve at chess and olympic weightlifting Not that my opinion matters, but I think those are fantastic goals to strive for. If it's making you happy to challenge yourself, go for it! THAT is exactly the purpose I'm talking about vs. someone that doesn't try at anything and doesn't have any idea what they'd like to do, or achieve, or improve in the next 10 years. > I hope that I can find something in my career that fuels a burning desire like some of the SpaceX employees I've accepted I won't find that kind of career, so I to do it in my outside life (like you are!)
Crolle 7y ago
To live with such kind of drive implies sacrifices not everyone is ready to make. Being all-in also means that you'll miss on other aspects of life.

nixpulvis 7y ago

> It's quite inspiring to see a real goal and drive towards it. I'm throughly uninspired... As a friend of mine once said: "progress when you're going the wrong direction, is turning around". The idea that we'll settle Mars while the Earth burns in borderline sinister. It reminds me of the elite outpost from Kingsman (the movie). We have a planet that is in dire need of this kind of motivated action, and yet Elon would rather be distracted by this dream. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate the "cool" factor of expanding to other planets. I too enjoy a good science fiction story. Who wouldn't want to escape the problems we've inherited, and proliferated. But escapism solves nothing for "us", and it's foolish to think Mars is anything else. If we as humans can't live on Earth responsibly, we frankly don't deserve to exist at all. (Perhaps we should pull a Titan A.E., and preserve some DNA in the vast wasteland of space. Just in case an alien species decides to give us another go)

anthonypasq 7y ago
sigh... there are plenty of reasons humanity should be multi-planetary other than escaping climate change.
- nixpulvis 7y ago
  Feel free to elaborate. I suspect any reasons you'll come up with are all still less urgent than the needs of our Earth. I've heard the argument about learning to control the climate through taraforming (or whatever you want to call it), but I'm completely unconvinced that is an efficient method. I'd be willing to be convinced otherwise, but I'm very skeptical.
  - m4rtink 7y ago
    Once even a minuscule fraction of the resources of the Solar System become available you can solve all terrestrial problems once and for all. Space & Solar System is big and has a lot of resources, much much more than what is available in on a terrestrial planet.
    - deleted 7y ago