Somebody recently asked me, “ What’s your end goal, what do you want to accomplish in life.” I was tempted to lie and say the name of a high ranked position, but instead, I told him the truth.

I don’t have a goal.

Life’s spontaneity has taught me so much in the 21 years I’ve lived. If I had answered that questions any other way, I would have been lying to myself. If somebody would’ve told me that I’d be publishing articles online six months ago, I wouldn’t have believed them. The opportunities I have encountered over the course of my college career have influenced my overall direction in life … it’s a dynamic process. Opportunities shape me. I don’t believe in having an end goal because I would be cheating myself, cheating what life has to offer. I am constantly looking for the next opportunity.

I contribute the majority of my success thus far to the rate in which I consume information. Let me clear, I don’t remember every bit of information exposed to me nor do I try to. I focused my attention on the practicality aspect of any advice, lecture, and book readings. I always lean towards the more practical information that is aligned with self-improvement.

I was more intrigued in how to improve my public speaking skills rather than the Pythagorean theorem. I was more intrigued in learning about understanding people and their personalities rather than remembering state capitals. I was more intrigued in learning about how to improve my resume and LinkedIn rather the periodic table.

I have been to many events, conferences, and have had many leadership positions. The more I was doing, the more time I spent taking mental notes about the new things that I was getting exposed to. Everyone consumes information differently and at different rates. Since I was always investing my time into something new, I was constantly putting myself in a position to grow; Therefore, I’m constantly changing. As I’m changing, so are my goals. That is why I don’t have a set goal in life. Instead, I focused more on executing every opportunity I have in front of me. Having a goal to me would be limiting myself to something, to a time frame, to a position. There are no limits. My practical advice would be to focus on the present. Execute on the things that matter right now, and don’t worry about the future because you are going to change. Focusing too much time on a goal that you aren’t truly passionate about will cause you to miss out on beneficial opportunities. You should always seek new environments because they can derive new aspirations that perhaps you didn’t know you had a passion for.

Students sometimes attempt to pursue a career they are not passionate about in hopes that the financial reward will compensate for the years of vacillation. However, a career without passion will not necessarily bring you happiness. If you’ve hated the journey of getting to that position that pays well, chances are you’re most likely going to hate the practice of that position as well. Follow your own passion or whatever motivates you.

Like seriously, if you’re motivated to follow it with actions. I see many people who are motivated but don’t capitalize on their motivation. Motivation without action is just stagnant energy that will slowly fade away.

Gratitude fuels me and gives me the energy to capitalize on opportunities. Find your fuel, find the reason you get motivated every single day and let it guide you. Follow your energy, don’t worry too much about the end goal because stressing is crippling.

Shout out to Ethan Riddell for being legendary. He asked me the question at the beginning of the article.