The Greeks did not write obituaries.  They asked only 1 question when a man died “Did he have passion?”

The Wanna be Surf Bum Manifesto

It has been said that the hardest thing in the world is to simplify one’s life.

Writing this at the age of 27 I know this to be true.

Having spent my college years chasing women and my post college years chasing money, I have had my fair share of the American dream.  Now I chase something far different.  I chase an ideal, I choose to chase passion.

In Tony Hsieh’s book “Delivering Happiness” he talks about the actual science behind what is is that everyone is truly seeking.  Starting with an exercise, simply ask yourself what you want to do with your life.  Now, no matter the answer ask yourself….why?  And again, no matter the answer, ask yourself…why?  Interestingly enough if you ask yourself why enough times you will get to the same answer as everyone else.  Because you believe that whatever you are pursuing will ultimately bring you happiness.

The interesting thing you learn when studying happiness is that people as a whole are extremely bad at knowing what will actually bring them long term happiness.  Why?  Because as a whole they focus on the wrong “type” of happiness.  For all intensive purposes, happiness can be broken down into 3 levels.

• Pleasure- The shortest lasting happiness that is based off stimuli and always chasing the next high.  It is this happiness that most people focus on with things like material possessions or sex, yet it has been proven to be a very fleeting form of happiness.

• Passion- The second longest form of happiness is Passion.  Passion refers to a state in which you achieve “flow” or what is sometimes referred to as “being in the zone.”   Time passes without notice when you are passionate. When you find something that not only gives you pleasure but also becomes a passion then you have achieved this second level of happiness.

• Higher Purpose/Ideal – The longest lasting form of happiness is being connected to or with a higher purpose.  This supports Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs that states once the basic fundamentals of life are met, human beings desire to be connected to a higher purpose or something bigger than themselves.  It is this purpose or ideal that in turn gives purpose and meaning to life.

As a general rule, the vast majority of the population chooses to chase pleasure and vow to get to passion and purpose once they reach the proper amount of happiness.  When in reality to achieve long lasting happiness you must actually do the exact opposite.  Find your purpose first and then layer passion on top of your purpose and ultimately find the pleasure that comes along with it, not the other way around.

This is a concept that I believe we all know inherently, but we lose over time as the world pushes us back to and rewards us for pleasure based happiness.  To have seen this concept so simply laid out like above was a turning point in my belief system, lifestyle and life.

Just as the surf bum spends his days in search of Zen through surfing and the stoke that goes along with every wave, we too must each find our own purpose and have the courage and strength to pursue it.

This site is dedicated to and written by those who are out there doing it, living their dreams, finding their purpose and pursuing their passions. I encourage you to peruse the site, get involved and starting thinking about how you can take some of the ideals and concepts referred to above and apply them in your life today.

-Mat