The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.

Of all the things I do with my time, one of the things I enjoy the absolute most is the opportunities I have to speak to groups of college students and to pass on to them as much knowledge as I can on all the life lessons I have learned in my journey from being their age to becoming an entrepreneur and going through the ups and downs until I finally achieved a high enough level of success to spend my time giving back. The only hard part is trying to fit everything into a one hour lecture when there are so many more lessons I wish I could share with them!

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” –Pablo Picasso

Giving through sharing with students is such an impactful way to give because it has the potential to change lives for the better. The college students are at such a pivotal point in their lives where they are straddling that fine line of still feeling like a kid inside but recognizing that they have to make very adult decisions about what career they are going to pursue so they can tailor their college education around that. They are also dealing with the pressures of knowing that they quickly need to become totally independent adults who are able to financially support themselves completely, not to mention the need to soon support a family of their own as well. It can be a really scary time in life for them. I myself still remember what it felt like to go through that all too well. I remember the emotions of feeling unprepared and afraid thinking “what if I can’t do it?” And because I still remember exactly how that felt, it makes me so happy when I can spend time with the students letting them know that it actually IS going to be okay and that they truly ARE capable of doing it…heck if I did it they certainly can!  I love seeing their faces when they recognize that I was no different than they are, other than the fact they are WAY smarter at their age than I ever was so they should have an even better chance of succeeding!   And it is so rewarding to see their faces when you’ve helped them to recognize that…honestly it’s the best feeling in the world.

I would encourage everyone out there who has the life experience to share, and the time available to donate, to get involved with mentoring students at your nearby colleges.  I promise that when you do, you will always walk away feeling you have gained FAR MORE than what you gave….  #worthit

“At the end of the day it’s not about what you have,

or even what you’ve accomplished…

It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better.

It’s about what you’ve given back.”

                                                               -Denzel Washington

Have an amazing day everyone!

~Amy Rees Anderson

4 Comments

  • Scott Wood says:

    Loved your post today, except for the hat you’re wearing… 🙂 Go UTEs!

  • Norm Wright says:

    I agree with Scott. I assume he means that you should be wearing a UVU hat.

  • Jane says:

    The way to find joy is restore it to others. Your joy is genuine, Amy. In the Bible it says, ” When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” Luke 12:48 We should give back as we have been blessed.

  • Gleb Tsipursky says:

    Nice Post. You have said correctly. You must know about the meaning of life. Also, you must know about its purpose. I explain the same thing in my blog too. If you want to read my blog

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