Your question is very valid. Sometimes I also wonder whether it really is an admirable goal to change the world. The world certainly doesn't care. Some groups or individuals may do. So I do it for them (including me).
Another way would be to neglect and ignore all purpose and meaning and just do whatever the frak you want. Go with the flow.
I think both results in the same
Will the founders of Snapchat be revered by humanity in the future? Highly doubtful. The way to be remembered is to live a life worth remembering after all.
You don't get to decide what the purpose of life is. And wanting to leave your mark on the world is just as validation a purpose of life.
>The way to be remembered is to live a life worth remembering after all.
Yeah that doesn't actually mean anything. There are plenty of people forgotten by time and their ancestors who lived perfectly fulfilling lives with their friends and family. They never got remembered in history books. Not that I'm saying their choices were worse but if you want to be remembered in history books, you don't just sit around making friends and family.
>Love this quote. It’s been on my fridge for years, and I see it every time I open the door.
>"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." – Ralph Waldo Emerson.”
And for the post below by @newen, I had to dig up my bookmarks to find this excellent article by a high schooler[1a,1b] about Charles Stover, quoting from article:
1> Under his name a simple inscription proclaims him “Founder of Outdoor Playgrounds.” When I read that for the first time, I laughed. How could one person be the founder of playgrounds? And shouldn’t he get more than a bench?
He worked selflessly for the poor, marginalized and children and setup many parks and housing facilities.
2>So why has Stover been forgotten? Although a prominent and influential figure, he did not seek fame or fortune. In a letter to a friend in 1927, he wrote, “My real preference is to be writ in water — just such complete obliteration as the poet Keats feared would be his fate.” He never married and kept no house of his own, preferring instead to live at University Settlement. He was a very private person, prone to bouts of depression, and was known to vanish occasionally with no explanation.
"On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club "
Eventually history will forget us all, IMHO instead of optimizing for global immortality we should strive locally to serve those around us as best as we can.
I am reminded one of the last scenes of the Godfather 3,the retired mafia boss,an old Michael Corleone is seen contemplating life{?) on a wheel chair, when suddenly he slumps and dies, possibly regretting all the violence and wrongs heaped on others.
I suspect on one's death throes, no one contemplates on wealth,fame or power they acquired in their lifetime but whether has their life been meaningful or made a difference for the better. Just my thoughts.
[0] https://twitter.com/JeffBezos/status/992765968182001665
[1a] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/opinion/charles-stover-pl...
[1b] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15111433
Edit: formatting
Being ego driven is not pathological alone and in itself and I think is necessary for achieving most great things.
What would 'non-ego driven' achievement look like? Are there any concrete well known examples of such a thing?
