I know life can't be about how many likes our social media posts receive, or how impressive our LinkedIn profiles look, or how flawless our Instagram feeds appear, or how many digital subscriptions we maintain, or how "busy" we claim to be in our status updates.
It can't be about those things. I know that for sure.
I know because none of these digital footprints will follow us through the door we call death.
I know because we didn't arrive with any virtual presence when we entered through the door called birth.
Yet every day, across our screens and conversations, that's precisely what bombards us—metrics of success measured in views, followers, engagement rates, and digital relevance.
The pressure to "build your personal brand" has replaced the simple act of being authentically present. It's alarmingly easy to get caught up in it all.
In today's gig economy and creator space, we're told engagement is how we keep score—as if life is fundamentally about winning, which necessarily means some must lose.
That can't be what life is about.
Algorithms favoring some voices over others, viral content, digital popularity contests—these can't be the purpose of our existence, can they?
Yet the opposite isn't the answer either.
Life is not about digital detox just for its own sake, or about technological asceticism, or about rejecting connection in a connected world.
In a peculiar way, these reactions are simply the flipside of the same coin, defining ourselves in opposition to something rather than in alignment with purpose.
Life is not about hoarding experiences for your highlight reel.
It is not about saving memories just to post them later. It is not about fear of missing out.
There's a movement gaining momentum called "digital minimalism." It's about using technology intentionally and purposefully without letting it consume our attention and dictate our worth.
It's a reflection of our collective desire to rediscover what truly matters.
As we navigate an era where burnout has become normalized and where our devices track our every metric from steps to sleep, many of us find ourselves asking deeper questions: Why are we here? Are we doing what we're meant to do? Was there something specific we came to accomplish?
What is life about, anyway?
Leo Rosten said, "The purpose of life is not to be happy—but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all."
This resonates deeply because genuine fulfillment comes from knowing we've made—and continue to make—a meaningful difference in someone else's life.
Dag Hammarskjold said, "It is more noble to give yourself completely to one individual than to labor diligently for the salvation of the masses."
Yes—just one person.
Not everyone, not your entire following.
Start with one.
The question becomes: how do we make that difference? Are we doing what we're meant to be doing? What is our unique contribution?
Here's what I believe.
Life is about choosing to understand more each day about who we truly are—not the carefully curated version we present online, but the essence of ourselves—and then sharing those authentic discoveries with others.
Life is a relationship event.
Life is about connecting.
Connecting with our true selves.
Connecting genuinely with others.
How we share and connect doesn't matter; only that we do it authentically.
Kindness and love don't require a verified checkmark beside our name or an impressive title in our bio to make a difference. The number of followers, connections, or the size of our digital footprint is irrelevant.
The size of our mailing list or podcast audience doesn't matter.
The information that truly transforms doesn't travel through algorithms but through the light we recognize as Love.
The medium that matters exists in reaching beyond our filter bubbles, beyond our echo chambers, beyond our automated recommendations, and beyond the teachings of survival of the most viral.
None of these metrics accompanied us through the birth door, and as we journey through this state of mind called human, instead of collecting them, we need to release them so they don't blind us to what awaits beyond the next threshold.
Here's the secret to living Life: Find and live a purpose greater than yourself—one that continues beyond your physical presence. Not to gain influence or trend on social platforms, but one that inspires you to wake each morning committed to making a tangible difference.
It's beautifully paradoxical.
All the people we admire for their dedication to others already understand this truth.
They know that as they move beyond their personal boundaries and positively impact someone else's experience, it's their own life that transforms most profoundly.
It evolves from a narrow, algorithm-dictated existence into one where experiencing dimensions beyond the visible metrics becomes your new normal.
Any purpose greater than ourselves functions like every viable seed—it contains everything necessary to grow and flourish. We can trust the outcome. Our role is simply to take action.
Above all, we must resist judging its scale or reach or virality, because those measurements pull us back into the comparison game, and that is not what life is about.
Mother Teresa said, "Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier."
There were no conditions attached to this wisdom—no metrics, no analytics, no reach.
That is the purpose of every life. Are we living it?
She also reminded us, "We can do no great things, only small things with great love."
In a world obsessed with scale and impact and influence, could anything be clearer than that?
I have two events coming up where this idea is the keynote of what we’ll be working with.
Spend a whole day (plus) with me, or 11 minutes. You pick what works for you, or maybe both!
This is the best! What the heck is the point of it all? Will be rereading, restacking, and sharing! Brilliant:).