Caterina.net: To do great things

« Want to be an entrepreneur? Drop out of college. | Main | Unordered List AGAIN »

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

{ Thursday, June 10, 2010 }

To do great things

I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.

-- Leo Rosten

I was reading some of my old posts the other day, just to remind myself who I was (it's easy to forget!) and I realized that I used to write more personal, heartfelt blog posts. (I also think my interestingness peaked in 2003).

Stewart and I used to have an argument, before we started the company that eventually became Flickr, of the importance of happiness vs. what I called "doing great things." "Doing great things" was ill-defined, and when I encountered the quote above on Nabeel's blog I thought Rosten did a good job of defining what it was. Not to slight happiness.

Happiness is a kind of genius. It can be cultivated too, as genius can. Put in your 10,000 hours of happiness and you will be a veritable Mozart of Joy.

Start now.

LINK | 8:52 AM | TB

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

{ COMMENTS }

Interesting timing: I happened onto this particular post just after an epiphany of sorts, very similar to yours. Life's reinvention.

Jon Lebkowsky | June 10, 2010 9:29 AM

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Happiness" is just as ill-defined as "Doing Great Things"

Jim | June 10, 2010 10:32 AM

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interesting timing; I just finished reading Martha Beck's The Joy Diet last night and it is a pleasing plan for making your world more joyful. It combines nicely with The Power of Less by Leo Babauta and, if I do say so myself, Discardia.

So, if you want some specifics about what to do with those 10,000 hours, I'd recommend it.

Dinah Sanders | June 10, 2010 10:42 AM

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Really nice. I don't read this blog often, but when I do it's like a piece of soul candy.

amy | June 10, 2010 1:28 PM

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

/highfives Amy

"Soul candy" indeed! Welcome back, Caterina! Please write more.

j david | June 10, 2010 1:37 PM

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

What I find most interesting about this post isn't necessarily the main topic about happiness but the phrase "to remind myself who I was (it is easy to forget)"
I just completed Teddy Wayne's excellent new novel Kapitoil and I will share a quote from it "you act a certain way, and think you are an absolutist, but everyday there are these little shifts. They are so small you dont even notice them. And one day you look at yourself and aren't sure how you got there"
I am curious as to why you felt it necessary to remind yourself of who you are and the usefulness of such a task in general terms?
I subscribe to your blog..always thought provoking

ebun | June 11, 2010 7:18 AM

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

{ Post a comment }