Life is long.

If you look after yourself, it can be even longer.

And if technology comes through, who knows how many more decades can be added.

All this time makes it realistically possible to pursue some truly awe-inspiring purposes. And such a pursuit can unlock bountiful supplies of inspiration and meaning.  

Few would argue that an inspired and meaningful life is a life truly worth living. 

Your awe-inspiring purpose

A wise man once said that people tend to overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what they can do in a decade. 

Awe-inspiring purposes count in decades, not years. Chasing after overnight success does not work here. 

Accepting that your awe-inspiring purpose will take decades is quite liberating.

It takes the pressure off and makes it a whole lot easier to handle the countless setbacks that will inevitably come your way. 

This can give you the privilege of pursuing a truly inspirational purpose with very limited stress. Add in the lovely virtuous cycle we looked at yesterday, and you have yourself one fine life 🙂

The power of compounding

Another thing that works over decades instead of years is exponential growth.

A 7% improvement every year might not sound like much. But over a decade, such gains will double your fortunes. The next decade brings another doubling. And then another. 

I’m convinced that someone in pursuit of a truly inspirational purpose can achieve a considerably shorter doubling time than one decade. 

And if they can, they’re in for some pretty spectacular growth:

The power of compounding only works when investment returns are continuously reinvested. And this is what the pursuit of an awe-inspiring purpose is all about.

Such a purpose makes continuous reinvestment totally natural. I’m just at the start of this reinvestment journey now and I can tell you: it’s already way more exciting than typical consumer spending 🙂

Just start

The human mind finds it difficult to think in decades. We’re short-term thinkers, pursuing short-term pleasure and avoiding short-term pain. 

But long-term thinking is within our power. And when your purpose starts coming together, pursuing this long-term objective actually brings plenty of short-term pleasure. 

So, just start. The decades will pass anyway. Might as well spend them on a compounding journey in pursuit of your awe-inspiring purpose 🙂