This article isn’t going to change your life. It might be the most inspiring thing you’ve read all day but it isn’t going to do you a damn bit of good.

The truth I hope you’ll realize by the end of this article is that reading it hasn’t changed anything.

It hasn’t changed anything not because the knowledge contained in the words isn’t valuable, or that the lesson taught isn’t sound. But if you quit reading this article right now, you aren’t going to miss out on anything that is going to change your life.

If you’re trying to change your life, you’re at the wrong place doing the wrong thing. If you’re searching for some insight, the answers to your problems might be contained within the pages of a book or blog, but even if you do find the solution, it isn’t going to do you any good.

It isn’t going to solve anything.

Having the answer isn’t the solution. Gaining knowledge may make you wiser, but it doesn’t matter how smart you become. Despite all the information you consume, unless you incorporate that knowledge into your life, it’s served you no purpose.

You can only change your life by taking action; by making decisions and following through. You have to commit to more than the desire for change, but to change itself. Improving your life cannot be done without action. A book can’t act for you. The most inspiring quote you’ve ever read isn’t going to make anything different.

 “Action expresses priorities.” ~ Gandhi

No. That’s up to you.

If you want to change your life, quit reading this and change your life.

Instead of a hollow, empty life like those of so many people, you want something more. Something better. You refuse to reduce yourself to another mindless cog in the machine. You have talent. You want to change the world and affect the lives of the people around you in a positive way. You want to be remembered for the wake of beauty you leave behind.

Most of the time you’re happy with your decision to shrug off the expectations for you to conform. You ignore the herd. Your work is important. What you’re doing matters. It’s your purpose. You’ve found meaning. You’ve chosen your path (or it’s chosen you) and you focus on the things that are important to you.

But even though you’re following your heart and you always put your values first, you still feel the pressure to fall in line; to follow the proven path of “success” that so many people before have taken.

Continue Reading at Pick the Brain…

Who you are is an abstraction of your life energy. It’s what you represent that defines who you are. You could cut off every part of your body; your toes, your feet, your legs and hands, and you’d still be you. You could be crippled, blind, or mute … or a debilitated mess kept alive with plastic tubes and bottled solutions being pumped in and out.

But your essence remains.

You aren’t your body. You aren’t your stretch marks or perfectly manicured nails. You’re not your pimples or the color of your skin. You aren’t the clothes you wear. The things you own don’t matter. None of it is who you are.

Who you are exists entirely within. Don’t define yourself in material ways.

You aren’t your body and you definitely aren’t your fucking khakis.

Despite my best intentions and sincere belief that anyone can live the life of their dreams, I can’t make that happen for you. I write to motivate, encourage and inspire. But without the internal desire and an ambition to change, my efforts are worthless.

They’re just words.

I can’t take you by the hand and lead the way.

I can’t stand behind you and kick you in the ass…

You can’t expect your life to be any different when you wake up in the morning until you start doing something to change it.  Each day is going to be just like the last … an eternal loop of the day before. If you want something different, you have to do something different. If you keep doing the same thing day after day after day, you’re always going to get the same results.

Changing your life isn’t about changing who you are.

“You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your fucking khakis.” ~ Tyler Durden, Fight Club

It’s about discovering who you really are and what you want out of life. It’s about figuring out what matters to you and what doesn’t. It’s about stripping away the bullshit (and there’s a lot of it) so that the essence of who you are can finally shine through. It’s about living in line with your values, your beliefs and in pursuit of your vision of a meaningful life.

 But to get there, you have to force yourself out of your comfort zone.

Today is thanks to yesterday and tomorrow depends upon what you do today. Forcing yourself into uncomfortable situations, doing strange (sometimes terrifying) things, traveling to exotic places and meeting new people … these are the things that will change your life.

Sitting at home watching The Biggest Loser isn’t going to help you lose weight. Reading inspirational blogs is pointless unless you act upon that inspiration. Dreaming about that vacation isn’t going to get you anywhere. You must take action! So turn off the TV and go for a walk. Use your newfound inspiration to create something beautiful. Stop dreaming and start planning…

The life of your dreams is out there waiting.

Do you have the courage to live it?

I spent much of my childhood staying out after dark to play in cemeteries, breaking into old abandoned buildings and starting fires. As a teenager I was labeled as a “troubled” child by my high school guidance counselor because I wore black lipstick and nail polish, a spiked collar, platform boots and Marilyn Manson shirts.

But the “rules” change as we get older. The expectations are different and more subtle than before.

Instead of rules imposed by our parents or authority figures like those of our childhood, the rules are implied through the cues we receive from our peers, by the media and through corporate advertising. We’re expected to behave in a certain manner, to drive a certain type of car and to wear a certain style of clothing. Knowing who was voted out last night has become a vital piece of information necessary for the conversation we’re about to have…

I’ve never been able to bring myself to care about the cultural expectations of my beloved country of America. My way of thinking about life doesn’t fit with the average American mindset and because of this I’ve spent my entire life with fingers pointed at me as being someone with a “problem.” I’ve been told countless times that I should seek psychological help.

And for a while I bought into it.

Maybe I was the one with the problem. I’m the only person who seems disappointed in our culture and society while everyone else is happily following the herd, never questioning anything. Maybe I need Prozac to make me feel better … that seems like a socially acceptable thing to do; take a drug to make myself feel better (all the while pointing a judgmental finger at people who smoke marijuana. Does anyone else find irony in that?) Maybe a pill will solve all my “problems.”

Maybe it would make sense to seek professional help and talk to someone about my disgust for our culture; someone who will no doubt go home that night to watch the latest episode of Survivor and The Biggest Loser while I’m left believing it’s me who has the problem because I just can’t bring myself to give a fuck about who’s going to be voted off the island.

But I’m not buying it anymore.

I’m not the one with the problem. I just see the world in a different light than do most people. A light in which I refuse to let myself become a zombie, mindlessly following the fabricated trends of the moment. I will not be told who I’m supposed to be or how I’m supposed to feel by a psychologist who can only benefit from my having a “condition.”

The truth is, I’m happy with my life and if there is something “wrong” with me, it’s that I refuse to accept the aspects of our culture which I consider a waste of precious time. If I am depressed, it’s because I’ve been unable to convince other people that they don’t need to buy more shit in order to be happy; that they don’t have to watch five hours of television a day; that they don’t need to see the latest viral video on YouTube.

What our society needs is to unplug; from the media, from the news, from the Internet, from the advertising, and instead focus the attention we’ve been wasting on bullshit on the people and moments that make life worth living.

Happiness doesn’t come from a pill.

And I’m not the one with a problem.

Stop lusting over the things you want and just be grateful for everything you already have. It’s much more than you’ll ever need.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Since I began blogging about my adventures, from jumping out of an airplane to meeting Marilyn Manson, my life has changed in ways I cannot even begin to describe. I’ve had an amazing life, and I promise you can have exactly the same if you simply create a list of all the crazy, exciting and strange things you someday hope to accomplish during your life … and then set out to do each and every one of them.

But what Hundred Goals has been missing, and maybe what I’ve been confusing with an amazing life, is a meaningful one.

I’ve come to realize that a meaningful life isn’t about bungee jumping or running marathons. And it has little to do with visiting remote corners of the world or eating bizarre foods. Sure, these experiences will open your eyes to the world around you and will help you grow as a person. But it’s you who’s gained something by doing these things. You’ve given nothing in return … and that is the key to a meaningful life.

None of this is meant to discount the importance of having goals in life.

I still believe that overcoming your fear of jumping out of an airplane will help you build confidence and that climbing a mountain is a great way to prove to yourself that you have the inner strength and fortitude to overcome any obstacles you’ll encounter in life. But a meaningful life isn’t about you. It’s about the positive impact you have on other people.

Show the people you love that you love them and don’t forget to tell them often. Speak politely … and less often. Listen more. Don’t brag. Volunteer in your community. Repair broken relationships with the people who matter. Accept others imperfections. Don’t be so demanding. Remember, it’s not always about you. Forgive the people who’ve hurt you and apologize to those who you’ve hurt.

You aren’t going to be remembered for that trip to Dracula’s Castle or the time you swam with a dolphin. You’ll be remembered for what you’ve done for others and the way you made them feel.

Be kind to one another.

I’m supposed to be in Paraguay as a Peace Corps Volunteer but I began having seizures just days before my departure and I was placed on medical hold for the next year. Each time I have another seizure, the clock gets reset.

So instead of Paraguay, I’m home.

Joining the Peace Corps has been something I’ve wanted to do for nearly a decade. It’s the reason I decided to go to college and earn a degree in Environmental Science. It’s why I got rid of nearly everything I’ve ever owned.

But I don’t think I really realized just how important joining the Peace Corps was for me until the other night when I sat alone in the dark, crying for the first time in years, thinking about my life and how nothing was what I’d expected it to be.

Not going to Paraguay as a Peace Corps Volunteer has destroyed my self-esteem and my identity. I’m left wondering about the future and questioning who I am. What will my life purpose be now? Will the world in which I’m surrounded be all there is to life … to work at a meaningless job so I can earn a paycheck to buy stupid shit I don’t need?

I want to be remembered for the wake of beauty I’ve left behind … not the trail of discarded objects from a life of mindless self-indulgence, consumption and materialism.

There has to be something more … and I believe I may have found it.