What should you do with your life?
This is a question that weighs heavily on young shoulders. Many believe the answer lies in trying as many things as possible, jumping from one experience to the next until something clicks.
But here’s the truth: you don’t need to try everything to find your calling. Instead, start by choosing one thing that excites you, do it wholeheartedly, and commit to going ahead of others in that pursuit.
Take Jeff Bezos, for example. When he left a stable job in finance to start Amazon in 1994, the concept of an online bookstore was far from mainstream. E-commerce was in its infancy, and the internet itself was largely uncharted territory.
Many would have called his decision risky or even foolish, but Bezos wasn’t chasing certainty. He was chasing an idea that excited him – a vision of how technology could revolutionise retail. He worked relentlessly, often handling customer service emails himself in those early days.
It wasn’t just his idea that set him apart; it was his willingness to act on it ahead of others, to refine it, and to stay tenacious even when the path forward seemed murky. Today, Amazon is a global empire, but it all started with one man’s decision to do something different and to give it his all.
Now consider Elon Musk. Before his name became synonymous with Tesla and SpaceX, Musk co-founded PayPal, an online payment platform, in the late 1990s. At the time, the idea of conducting financial transactions over the internet was met with scepticism. Security concerns and a lack of trust in online systems made the venture seem like an uphill battle.
But Musk saw potential where others saw obstacles. His relentless drive and belief in the transformative power of technology helped PayPal become a game-changer in digital payments. After selling PayPal, Musk didn’t rest on his laurels. Instead, he poured his energy into ventures that excited him – electric vehicles and space exploration – both of which were considered audacious, if not impossible, at the time.
Musk wasn’t following a clearly defined path; he was creating his own. His success proved the power of diving headfirst into something you believe in, even without knowing exactly where it will lead.
Both men remind us of a simple but powerful truth: success often comes not from casting a wide net but from diving deep into one thing that excites you.
To the younger generation reading this, my advice is this: instead of spreading yourself thin trying to discover your “true calling,” just start doing something that excites you. It doesn’t have to be perfect, and you don’t need to know all the answers. What matters is that you begin, and you commit to going ahead with focus and determination.
But how do you know what excites you? Ask yourself: what is that one thing you can’t stop thinking about? What energises you so much that it doesn’t feel like work? It could be designing apps, writing stories, solving problems, or even baking cakes. Whatever it is, start doing it – and do it differently, ahead of others.
Here’s the catch, though: excitement alone isn’t enough. It needs to be paired with action. You can’t just dream of success; you have to work for it. Bezos and Musk weren’t merely passionate – they were disciplined, resourceful, and tenacious. They stayed the course even when the odds were against them.
You, too, can apply this principle to your own life. The path may not always be clear, but as you take one step forward, the next step will reveal itself. And who knows? The thing you’re working on today may be the seed of something extraordinary tomorrow.
So, stop overthinking, and don’t let the fear of the unknown hold you back. Choose one thing that excites you, and give it everything you’ve got. It doesn’t have to be grand or groundbreaking right away. What matters is that you begin – and that you begin with purpose. As Paulo Coelho writes in ‘The Alchemist’, “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
At the end of the day, success is not about trying to do everything in life. It’s about choosing something meaningful to you and pursuing it with all your heart. It’s not just about finding your call – it’s about answering it. So, go ahead and take that first step, all right?
As long as it excites you.
Dr Nahrizul Adib Kadri is an Associate Professor of biomedical engineering and the Principal of Ibnu Sina Residential College, Universiti Malaya.
The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer’s and do not necessarily represent that of Twentytwo13.
