Read This If You Feel Like Your Life Needs Meaning

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As I was skimming Complex magazine the other day, Marc Eckō’s editorial note immediately caught my eye. He starts the piece by writing, “Fuck your summer vacation” (and New Year’s resolutions for that matter) and then proceeds to talk about the importance of unconventional thinking. See, the problem is, we are trained to believe that things in life should go according to a certain plan and to be seen through a specific lens.

Eckō takes us back to when he was 19 and felt something rise in him that has been dormant for years; a place where he felt he needed to make some kind of change and be more involved in the world (currently what I’m going through at 25 – guess better late than never).

He spent an entire summer discovering his passion, exploring the unknown.

Somehow after reading this, I make a correlation to Kanye West’s latest interview with SHOWstudio . I realized that I’ve never given Kanye a chance because I always listened to what others said about him – that he’s crazy, delusional, insane, self centered, etc. Earlier this week, I decided to watch part of this interview, which made me realize that I no longer agree with what others are saying. Like Echo, West has such a deep understanding of himself, that he says things that sound alien to those who are taught that conventional thinking is the way of life.

Sure, I think West is self-centered based on certain things he says, and I truly believe he only married into the Kardashian Klan to achieve the level of fame that he has been looking for, but otherwise his convictions are rather thought provoking (to say the least). During this interview, it seems as though he wants the reporter to dig deeper, which she isn’t doing, rather simply reading from her list of questions that he has probably heard over and over again.

It was clear he was looking for something more enigmatic, which is what he kept pushing for, so that people would give him a chance to talk depth.

I’m not a fan of Kanye because he’s just not my style, but let’s be real – it seems that the man has discovered life’s secret, which most people aren’t able to accomplish in a lifetime. He is able to understand his thoughts and feelings and make something of it – most people are afraid of themselves and especially the truth. He speaks it, and for that I commend him even if many don’t agree with or understand where he is coming from.

Echo says, “I set ambitions right at the time everyone’s about to unplug” followed by, “When you do that, you’ll find that some friends might see you as arrogant, try to talk you out of working.” One of my best friends is a writer and probably one of the most unconventional thinkers I know. I have never met anyone more hardworking. He literally sleeps three hours a night and still has the motivation to fight for what he believes.

Every time he is shot down, he fights twice as hard to prove them wrong and his achievements to this day blow my mind. Our natural instinct is to doubt and underestimate ourselves, or to feel we’re not good enough. What differentiates those who are mega-successful? They don’t quit. They are rejected time and time again, but for them quitting just isn’t in their DNA.

Walt Disney said, “The difference in winning and losing is most often…not quitting.” How do you think Disney became the legendary icon he is today? People were probably thinking “WTF?!” when he pitched his ideas, but he believed in himself more than anyone else did (and in his unconventional thinking). The reporter asked West, “Do you ever doubt yourself?” His response, “Never.” Sure, he may sound crazy, but he’s reached a level of success most dream of, so clearly he’s doing something right.

If you think about life from a big-picture perspective, you’ll realize that everything has been created by people who simply (or maybe not so simply) didn’t give up.

Everything well known in today’s society has been derived from unconventional thinking. We, as followers, choose to embrace these ideas and make them the norm.

Personally, I’m still working to find my place in the world. But I am starting to understand the importance of not being a follower, rather a leader, even if standing alone. Otherwise, what’s the point of it all? So I challenge those who read this to figure out how unconventionally thinking can be applied to your life. If you look around, you’ll find that too many people become content with complacency. With that I ask, what’s the point of your being? Digging deeper can be intimidating, but it’s the only way we learn our true meaning and place in this ridiculous thing called life.