Find your purpose so you can dream big and act big in 2016 and beyond

I truly believe the purpose of life is to find our purpose and the way we find our purpose is finding our gift and giving it away.

What?

Let me explain by sharing what I believe my purpose is. Hopefully it will inspire you to start looking for the signals and figure out what your gift is.

If our dreams are somewhat aligned, please reach out! That’s the main reason I’m writing this post.

My ultimate big dream is to run an invention lab by the ocean and create disruptive technologies, products and businesses that solve big problems.

What will this place be like:

• it will have enough space to invite creative people from all over the world to work on problems together
• it will have a maker lab to build prototypes
• it will be a serene place of relaxation and creativity with an organic garden, places to meditate — everything to open up the brain
• it will be in California to be close to the most innovative people on the planet and the funds required to get big ideas to the next level
• it will involve my family and any friends that want to help
• it will require extensive travel to see and experience the worlds problems first hand and learn about the solutions people are coming up with
• the work we’ll be doing will spin off 1,000+ businesses and impact 100 Million+ people

“Start with Why”

Why do I exist and how do I know what my gift is?

I think I was put on this earth to solve problems with technology and make the world a better place.

I know this may seem like another altruistic “save the world” dream but it really isn’t. It’s just what I was meant to do and what I love to do — invent and solve problems that seem impossible. I love the chase, the eureka moment and seeing ideas come to life. The more people are positively impacted, the better.

It is why becoming an engineer was the only thing I could do, why I have learned to present and “sell”, why I love to bring people together, why I love to travel, explore and learn and why I keep an evernote full of ideas and come up with new ones daily .

How else do I know this is what I’m meant to eventually do once I’ve learned enough?

• it is an idea I can’t seem to kill every since I was in Baddeck NS and learned about Alexander Graham Bell’s similar lab on a hill overlooking Bras D’Or Lake
• I think about it daily and it feels right — I can’t imagine anything else I would rather do when I’m ready: inventing and helping the world, with awesome people surrounding me, sharing and coming up with ideas next to my wife, the smartest person I know.
• I’m not alone — there are people like Mick Ebeling with Not Impossible Labs,Peter Diamandis and Salim Ismail with Singularity University and many others I will discover. I want to meet and hangout with these people — kindred spirits.

Will this make me rich?
I have no idea and it doesn’t matter.

If I can carry no debt, sustain myself and my family and create an environment where Yvonne and the girls can flourish and pursue their own dreams, I can’t imagine a bigger success.

When?

I expect to this to become reality in about seven years.

Learn, take massive action and be patient yet relentless in the pursuit of the big dream. There are no short cuts.

In the meantime, I have much to learn and people to meet. Jayson Flick, the CEO of youi.tv, the company I’ve just joined, is one of these people. I’ve admired his work for a long time and now I’m working with him and his awesome team.

I’ve also launched Maximum Impact, a media company that aims to dissect successful disruptive companies and thinkers. I want to learn and share their tips, tricks and lessons with the world and will apply these what I launch companies in the future. I’ve booked the first interviewee for the podcast, the author one of the best books on disruption!

Why am I sharing this with you?
This is actually not about me at all. I believe there are people out there with similar dreams, crazy ideas and looking to belong to a community of dreamers and doers — The Crazy Ones.

If you’re one of them, please reach out and join us. It it makes sense, I’ll invite you to a private group I started recently where we share ideas and support each other.

If that isn’t you but you know people who fit the bill, please introduce us.
If this isn’t your bag but read this far, I hope this post has inspired you to figure out your own big dream and when you do, have the courage to take massive action.

PS. Title inspired by Jeffrey Hayzlett’s Think Big, Act Bigger, a mentor and one of my favourite people. I strongly recommend getting his book and checking out hispodcast. He was gracious enough to take time to meet with me many times, including a NY meeting where he spent an hour and a half with Yvonne and I to talk about the “big idea”. I will be forever grateful.