PURPOSE & MEANING

Some years ago, I heard a great speech about principal and resolution, these days I was reminded of it by the book “The 12 Rules of Life” by Prof. Jordan Peterson.

Once I was a soldier, in Pembroke, Wales, where I had the honor to train with British- and American troops, I remember this time quite well. At the end of my tour, the commanding officer gave a memorable speech. Today I like to share some of the thoughts of my own, the speech as well as of Peterson’s book, with you.

Statistic say the average person raised in Europe will meet about 10,000 people in a lifetime. That is many people. If every one of our battalion changed the lives of just 10 people, and each one of those folks changed the lives of another 10 people, then in five generations our battalion would have changed the lives of 800 million people, 800 million people, think of it, almost twice the population of Europe.

Go one more generation; and we could change the entire population of the world, eight (8) billion people. If you think, it's hard to change the lives of 10 people, change their lives forever, you're wrong. I saw it happen during my school time, where teachers destroyed or fostered talents, in my time in Africa when people were given a fair chance or deprived of it, or during my time in Iraq 2008 -2010, when I saw what difference it makes to lead strong and true. When organizations such as “4 Stones for Africa” (an organization which builds schools and provides shelter for girls in Tanzania) rescue girls from child marriages, and a live in poverty, ensuring that they get a first class education, go to Universities, follow their dreams and devotions, enabling them to lead a meaningful life.

If you think about it, not only were these girls fostered, but the families of these children and subsequent their offspring yet unborn. And so on, and so on… Generations were saved by individual decisions, by one individual persons, persons like you and the once next to you. Changing the world can happen anywhere and anyone can do it.

If you will humor me for just a moment, I have a few suggestions that may help you on your way to a better a world. While these lessons were learned in my youth, during my time in the military, or are a collection of my 35 years of experience living and working around the world, I can assure you that it matters not where you come from. It matters not your gender, your ethnic or religious background, your orientation or your social status.

Our struggles in this world are similar, and the lessons to overcome those struggles and to move forward, changing ourselves, and the world around us, will apply equally to all.

I have traveled the world for over 35 Years; I have seen and experienced war first hand in Iraq, South Sudan and Afghanistan, poverty and corruption in the extreme in West-, Central-, and East Africa as well as in Asia and South America. But my basic lessons about live began at home. My family struggled and we as children, especially the boys, had to work hard, from early age on, to help support the family. In winter, we had to collect firewood in the forest. I was 12 years old when a typical day during Christmas holiday looked like this: Wake up-call at 6:30, 7:30 get the tractor ready (chainsaw, petrol, oil and axe chains, etc.. 08:00 hour and sub-zero temperature we sat on the open wagon and of we drove to the forest, we toiled the whole day until the night and if we were lucky we (my father, my younger brother age 10 and older brother 14) were able to cut and load three trailers of firewood. It was hard toil and if you did not work hard, you were freezing like hell. Struggling for 10 hours cutting, carrying 1.5 m long logs, loading, and offloading them, the whole buddy was aching, we had blue marks all over the forearms, ice cold feet, and we were tired, exhausted. Worst of all we knew we needed to go out there again the next day, and again the next day, and again and again… Interesting, my father was up an hour earlier, made a fire in the oven, , and was the last at night, while getting the chain of the saw sharpened for the next day. 

What was the lesson of all this? Why do I tell this story? I learned various lessons during this time:

• Live is no pick-nick, but struggle and toil (Hot water does not come from a tap but from hard work.
• Results are not achieved, via a onetime effort but an ongoing long lasting sequence of efforts.
• Everyone can contribute and make a difference, as a family, a team you can overcome and endure all struggle.
• Leading by example and going the extra mile makes people follow you willingly.

HARD WORK AND STRUGGLE, FORMS CHARACTER

I made similar experiences during my army training time. I served in a small elite anti- tank unit “Panzerj?ger” only two units existed in the German Army. The training was extremely hard, six months of long torturous runs, obstacles courses, unending workouts, days without sleep and always being cold, wet and miserable. Six months of being constantly harassed by professionally trained fighters, who seek to find the weak of mind and body and eliminate them from ever becoming a “hunter” wearing the Green Beret. The training also seeks to find those who can lead in an environment of constant stress, chaos, failure and hardships. To me the “basic” training was a lifetime of challenges crammed into six months. Every morning, the instructors would show up and the first thing they would inspect was your bed. If you done it right, the corners would be square, the covers pulled tight, the pillow centered just under the headboard and the extra blanket folded neatly. It was a simple task, nothing special. Every morning we were required to make our bed to perfection. It seemed a little ridiculous at the time, particularly in light of the fact that were aspiring to be “real warriors”, tough, but the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over.

If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another, and so on. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right. If by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made, that you made, and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.

START-OFF BY MAKING YOUR BED IN THE MORNING

During the training, the 60 applicants are broken down into smaller units. Each crew is 5 privates. In addition to the 15kg personal equipment, the side arm and the G3 rifle, one soldier carried the HOT- firing unit (wire guided missile system), two carry the missiles, one the optics and one a heavy machine gun. Every day your team forms up, is dropped at an unfamiliar starting point and marches approx. 30 miles, during the night to reach a defined position in the morning, fires its missiles and hits the targets. In the winter, when temperature could dropped below -18°C degrees and it is exceedingly difficult to wade in the deep snow it was vital that everyone carries it load but also supports each other. Every soldier needed to be alert, disciplined and ensure his equipment worked. The tank troops knew we were coming, they knew were out there, they just did not know where and when we should strike. Never the less they were on a constant lookout for us. For the team to make it to its destination and fulfill the task, every one needed to carry its weight.

YOU CAN′T CHANGE THE WORLD ALONE - you will need some help

To achieve your goals you need friends, colleagues and the good will of strangers, plus at the start a mentor for guidance. If you want to change the world, find someone who supports you. Over a few weeks of difficult training my unit, that started with 62 men, was down to just 40. There were now 8 teams of 5 men each. I was in the team with the tall guys, but the best team we had was made up of the little guys — the dwarfs we called them — no one was over about five-foot-five. The dwarfs were an interesting bunch, one Bavarian farm boy, one Russian- German mechanic, one Italian-German school kid, one City-Kid from Dortmund, and one student from Munich. They out-marched, out-ran and had better hit-rates than all the other teams. The big folks in the other teams would always make fun of dwarfs prior to every exercise. Somehow, these little guys, from every corner of the country, always had the last laugh, performing better than everyone and reaching the finish line before the rest of us. Army training was a great equalizer. Nothing mattered but your will to succeed. Not your ethnic background, not your education and not your social status.

MEASURE A PERSON NOT BY HIS SIZE BUT BY HIS HEART AND CHARACTER

Several times a week, the instructors would line up the class and do a uniform inspection. It was exceptionally thorough. Your uniform hat to be perfectly positioned, your uniform immaculately pressed and your boots shiny and void of any smudges. It seemed that no matter how much effort you put your uniform or polishing your shoes— it just was not good enough. The instructors would find “something” wrong. For failing the uniform inspection, the private had to run, fully dressed into the “mud zone” and then, roll around on the dirt until every part of your body was covered with dirt. The effect was known as a “coating.” You stayed in that uniform the rest of the day — cold, wet and dirty. Many soldiers just could not accept the fact that all their effort was in vain. That no matter how hard they tried to get the uniform right, it was unappreciated. Those soldiers did not make it through training. Those soldiers did not understand the purpose of the drill. You were never going to succeed. You were never going to have a perfect uniform. Sometimes no matter how well you prepare or how well you perform you still end up “coated”. It is just the way life is sometimes.

GET OVER BEING "COATED" AND KEEP MOVING

 Every day during training, you were challenged with multiple physical events. Long runs, obstacle courses, hours of workouts, designed to test your mettle. Every event had standards — times you had to meet. If you failed to meet those standards your name was posted on a list, and at the end of the day, those on the list were invited to a “circus.” A “circus” was two hours of additional workout and harassment, designed to wear you down, to break your spirit, to force you to submission. A “circus” meant that for that day you did not measure up. A “circus” meant more fatigue and more fatigue meant that the following day would be more difficult and more circuses were likely. But, at some time during training, everyone made the “circus list”. An interesting thing happened to those who were constantly on the list. Over time, those privates who did two hours of extra workout got stronger. The pain of the circuses built inner strength, built physical resiliency. Life is filled with “circuses”. You will fail often. It will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times, it will test you to your very core.

DON`T BE AFRAID OF THE "CIRCUSES"

At least twice a week, the trainees were required to run the obstacle course. Obstacle course contained 18 obstacles including a 10-foot high wall, and a barbed wire crawl, to name a few. The most challenging obstacle was the rope for life. Two towers. In between a 7 meter- long rope. You had to climb the tower and once at the top, you grabbed the rope, swung underneath the rope and pulled yourself hand over hand until you got to the other end. The record for the obstacle course had stood for years. The record seemed unbeatable, until one day, a private decided to go down the slide headfirst. Instead of swinging his body underneath the rope and inching his way down, he mounted the TOP of the rope and thrust himself forward. It was a bold move, and fraught with risk. Failure could mean being band from the training. The private slid down the rope perilously fast, and by the end of the course, he had broken the record.

IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD, YOU HAVE TO TAKE RISKS AND EXPLORE NEW WAYS

During the behind enemy line phase of training, the soldiers are flown out to Bavarian forest. In winter a particular cold area. To pass the training there are a series of tasks hat to be completed. One is the free training. Before the training starts, the instructors joyfully brief the trainees on all the tasks required and the punishment if you get caught by the “unfriendly” (Paratroopers who assigned to hunt the platoons down). They assure you, however, that no one ever died or been severely injured during the training session, at least not recently. But, you are also taught that if your position is compromised — stand your ground. Do not give up. Summon up all your strength, fight back and gain the upper hand. There are a lot of “unfriendly” in the world. If you hope to complete the task, you will have to deal with them.

IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, DO NOT BACK DOWN.

As “hunter”, one of our jobs is to conduct attacks against enemy installations. We practiced this extensively. The platoon was usually dropped off 15 to 20 km from the target site, at night.  Using nothing but a map, and compass, to get to their target. During the entire march, a blanket of darkens covers your path and that is comforting. As you approach the target, the light begins to increase. The structure of the target is clearly visible in the light. To be successful in your mission, you have to approach the target and identify its most vulnerable spot, the core, the center of attack. This is your objective. But, the center stage is also the most illuminated part of the target, where you have no cover, a place that is well protected where it is easy to get detected, stopped and fail. Every trooper knows that the time in the danger-/ target zone, is the high risk time of the mission, it is the time when you must be calm, composed, when all your skills, your physical power and all your inner strength must be brought to bear.

IF YOU WAN TO CHANGE THE WORLD, YOU MUST BE YOUR VERY BEST IN THE MOMENT OF DANGER OF HIGH RISK

The 10th week of training is the “purgatory”. It is 5 days of no sleep, constant physical and mental harassment, and one special day at the obstacle course in full ABC gear. It is on third day of “purgatory” you spend 12 hours trying to survive the freezing cold and the incessant pressure, to quit, from the instructors, while at the same time you seem to suffocate under your ABC mask. The instructors told us we could leave the mud, if only one men of the platoon would quit — just one men — and we could get out of this hell. Looking around it was apparent that some soldiers were about to give up. It was still eight hours till the sun came up, eight more hours of bone-chilling cold on one side and near suffocation on the other, it felt like I will die any moment. The moans of the trainees were so loud it was hard to hear anything else. Then, one voice began to break through the night, one voice raised a song. The song was terribly out of tune, but sung with great enthusiasm. One voice became two, and two became three and before long, everyone in platoon was singing. We knew that if one man could rise above the misery then others could as well. The instructors threatened us with more time on the course if we kept up the singing, but the singing persisted. Somehow the night seemed a little warmer, the pain a little smaller and the dawn not so far away. If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world, it is the power of hope. The spirit of one person can change the world by giving people hope.

IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD, START SINGING WHEN YOU ARE UP YOUR NECK IN A MESS

Finally, there was a board. A black board that hang in the center of the barracks, where all trainees of the unit heave been listed. All you had to do to get out of this mess and pain was to cross out your name, and you would have been transferred out of hell. Cross your name and you no longer have to wake up at 5 o'clock. Cross your name and you no longer have to endure the insults and pain. Cross your name and you no longer have to do the runs, the obstacle course; and you no longer have to endure the hardships of training. Just cross yourself out.

IF YOU WAN TO CHANGE THE WORLD, DO NOT EVER TAKE YOURSELF OUT OF THE GAME

To all of you, you can change the world. You can start and make this place a better world. Nobody says it will be easy. But it is possible. You can be part of a team that can affect the lives of many. Start each day with a task completed. Find someone to help you through life. Respect everyone. Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often. But if you take some risks, if you step up when the times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden and never, ever give up, if you do these things, then the next generation and the generations that follow will live in a world far better than the one we have today. However before you change the world get your own life in order.

FIRST GET YOUR LIFE IN ORDER BEFORE YOU TAKE ON THE WORLD 

One of the most liberating things you can do is find your purpose. This will give you all the meaning you require for your life. It’s what life is about: finding your purpose and following through by living it. Your purpose is what drives you, what gets you up in the morning, what gives you energy. Focus on yourself. Ask yourself, who do you want to be? What life you want to lead. What is important to you? If you do nothing else with your life, seek your purpose with all your heart so you can reap the benefits of a meaningful life!

Please, don’t mix up purpose with consumption, possession/ and ownership.

FIND PURPOSE

 If you want meaning in life. Set goals and make a plan for achieving them. Then, most importantly, take action to accomplish the goals.

SET GOALS

Developing your talents will give meaning to your life and can lead to finding your purpose. Work on what comes naturally to you.

FOCUS ON YOUR TALENTS

 Spend time with the people that add to your life and lift you up. This could be anyone from friends to work colleagues. Spend less time with people that drain your energy or give negative vibes. “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

GREAT CONNECTIONS

Helping other people helps you feel good, definitely makes you feel worthy, and gives you some sense of purpose. Giving to others in time. Helping them out is a sure way to give yourself meaning in life.

GIVE MEANING TO YOUR LIFE

Happiness is a choice. Override what you were taught, which is to play along with the rest of the world and become unhappy because things are not perfect. I’m not saying have a deluded smile on your face (people will think you’re crazy) but instead stay calm and stay happy, whilst dealing with situations that need your attention.

BE HAPPY!