Introduction

Whatever the definition of human life may be, it is clear that life does not require intentional thought. Remaining alive, however, usually does, and living well most certainly does. Remaining alive can be extremely difficult at times, not just because of the necessity of securing the water, food, and shelter required to do so, but because of the difficulty of doing these things in such a way as to make the effort necessary seem worthwhile.

The difficulty of remaining alive is increased by the lack of clarity in how to do so in a way that is worthwhile. Life is hard, but it doesn’t need to be confusing. The unavoidable component of the difficulty of life is not in finding its purpose. A clear understanding of purpose enables the intentional pursuit of it essential to generating the meaning that provides internal joy and external well-being in life.

The majority of the internal distress and external challenges faced by people today can be conquered through understanding and living according to one’s purpose in life. This book will help you make sense of life, as well as why and how to live it well.

The two central questions that separate living from living well are:

Why? How?

If you can answer both with personal conviction and your answers align with reality, you’ll have a great life. If you can't answer them or if your answers don’t align with truth, your life may continue, but not in ways that you are likely to enjoy.

To answer these seemingly simple questions with any degree of truth and inner belief, you need to have a lot of deeper answers. While depth is almost always conflated with complication, they are not the same. Like a well-organized storage area, the right structure can make order easy.

Making sense of life isn’t just a matter of getting the big picture right, though that is necessary. You also need to find a way to connect the big picture to the moments that fill each day.

At all times, a life of maximal purpose requires the answer to these two questions:

What should I do right now, and why?

This question, repeated constantly, must be considered within the context of greater scopes:

What should I do today, and why? What should I do this week, and why? What should I do this month, and why? What should I do this year, and why? What should I do with my life, and why?

At first glance, these questions might seem overwhelming, but remember: the right structure makes order easy.

This book will help you design a unified answer to the big and little questions of what your life is all about.¹ You’ll discover a way to maximize the purpose you find in all things, at all times.

By the end of this book you'll be able to answer what you should do and why from the scope of the briefest moment of each day up to the grandest vision of what you believe your life to be about. You will architect the answer to these questions yourself, but the structure provided to you will make it straightforward² and spare you from the overwhelm you might otherwise expect.