If the purpose of our time on this earth is not largely about discovering who we are and what matters to us, then we are living without meaning. Sadly, most of the people you meet on your journey will neither know themselves nor care to learn who they truly are.

You were born with the right to decide what your life is to be about. The only real meaning is that which you knowingly apply to the events, circumstances, and intentions of your life experience.

However most people fail to take advantage of this immense power. The majority of human beings on this planet are content to plod from the cradle to the grave without the faintest idea of who they really are and what earnestly matters to them.

Those of us born into modern civilization have a luxury that our ancestors may have lacked. We have relative safety and security in terms of food, shelter, and basic survival; hence we have plenty of time and energy to use toward a thorough exploration of self.

But again this opportunity is lost on the masses. Any use of time seems preferable to looking closely at self and discovering the truth about who one is.

Mindless television, consumption of heavily processed foods when we aren't hungry to begin with, sex with people we hardly know, and the use of mind-altering drugs are just a few examples of how humanity flees the fundamental questions of: Who am I and what do I want?

Why are we raised to avoid deep introspection? Why does our society poke fun of those who would journey inward to find the answers to these basic questions?

More importantly, why do we fail to challenge these perverse norms? The truth is we, as a collective and as individuals, don't want to know who we are.

We are afraid of our own magnificence. We are terrified that if we look deep within we'll see there is no valid excuse for our laxity, our failures, and our fears.

The light of our greatness burns so brightly, even when buried deep within and forgotten, that it frightens us into a state of dimwitted preoccupation with anything that can provide distraction.

But like all fears, the key to conquest lies in our willingness to face the matter. Once we are open and honest about the fact that we have grown into adulthood without ever taking the time to find out our own true identities, deep and lasting change is possible.

The first step is in admitting the truth: You've probably never sat in a quiet room and had a long look at who you are beneath the social pretense and what you really want to experience before you die.

The good news each new moment contains infinite possibility. It is never to late to begin again, and you can decide right to now to ask and answer the hard questions about your true nature, your real core values, and what you honestly want to spend your life doing.

Life at the pinnacle of happiness and fulfillment doesn't necessarily have to mean climbing mountains and jumping out of planes, nor must it be about saving an endangered species or feeding a hungry village. In truth it can be about none of these things, all of these things, a few of these things along with a completely different set of ideals that you define, or any other combination that you choose without the input of anyone else.

You alone get to decide who you are and what matters in your life. You are in complete charge of where you go from here, and not a single choice you make need comply with any preconceived notions of right, wrong, good, bad, worthwhile, or so forth.

It's your life. And it's time you decide who is living it and what it takes to make this wonderful person happy.