Some have asked me: what do you want do (in life)? I found this question rather strange, as if my raison d’être would be to do whatever pleases me. There is an automatic responder inside of me that bounces back this question. It implies the hedonistic presumption that we are on earth to do what we want to do. This is too easy to me. Strolling the earth in my I-need-to-do-what-pleases-me outfit does not suit me. It should not fit anyone.

Now that I think about it, I am fighting revulsion and anger. This demand side approach to life, i.e. I want to consume but I do not want to invest, makes me feel gloomy. I am missing the spark that incites pride. I am missing a true zest for life. Those people will suck at the things they’ll do. I want to see people fight. I want to hear athletes scream of pain. I want workers to moan under heavy loads. I want intellectuals at university studying day and night. We have few of this these days.

This is the problem with richness: it brings out the worst in people. It makes them lazy and demanding a ‘good’ life without putting in effort. I have called them spineless before. I wonder how they can life with themselves. You are a nobody. You should not have existed. You do not matter. If you perish today, it would make no difference to the world.

We are given an identity by what we represent to others. By what we contribute to the world. In order to be recognised we need to stand out. We need to go the extra mile, to take our chances, to be better. To be good at what we do. I do not see how one can live satisfactorily without this frame of mind. We are to ask ourselves: what do we want to be good at, what makes us feel proud when we present it to others. This is what we should do, this is what we need to invest in.