*** ~AUGUST TURAK is a highly successful entrepreneur, award-winning author, speaker, and contributor for Forbes and the BBC. He is the founder of the educational nonprofit the Self Knowledge Symposium Foundation (SKSF). As a frequent guest, Turak has been living and working alongside the monks of Mepkin Abbey […]
“The more you know, the less you need.” “The hardest thing in the world is to simplify your life. It’s so easy to make it complex. What’s important is leading an examined life. Mastery… is to work toward simplicity; replace complex technology with knowledge, hard work, and skill. […]
Excellence Reporter: Rev. Bill, what is the meaning of life? Rev. Bill McDonald: I have given much thought and time to contemplate that very question ever since I was a child facing death in the hospital at eight years of age. I had “died” in my hospital bed all […]
Excellence Reporter: Mr. Harsanyi, what is the meaning of life? Gabor Harsanyi: To answer this question in the most loving way… without making anything right or wrong, I refer to a quote from my book “Functional Silence: De-mystifying Awakening for the Spiritually Exhausted”: “Bees love to fly from […]
Excellence Reporter: Steve, what is the meaning of life? Steve Chandler: The first word that comes to my mind when you ask “What is the meaning of life?” is “creativity.” Pure, loving, and infinite creativity. It’s our natural, inherent state of being…and not a static state, but rather a flourishing… an active […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Fellingham, what is the meaning of life? Paula Fellingham: Life has had different meanings for me during my nearly 70 years of living. As a girl growing up in the glow of a famous parent, defining the meaning of life never crossed my mind. I laughed […]
We each enter life with desires, goals, and challenges to overcome, and we choose birth conditions that will best help us meet these objectives. Arriving with dreams from the past that are seeking fulfillment, we find meaning as we are able to satisfy these karmic imperatives from the […]
Excellence Reporter: Ms. Karpinski, what is the meaning of life? Gloria D. Karpinski: As an intuitive counselor and spiritual teacher for several decades, I can testify the number one question behind all other questions for most people is the quest for meaning. What is the mission? Why am […]
Humans and all creatures are meaning-making “machines”; no living creature would survive without meaning-making. Everything that happens to us and around us that we encounter for the first time causes us to assign a meaning to it. Once we see the same pattern of experiences occurring in our […]
Excellence Reporter: Jane, what is the meaning of life? Jane Sloane: The meaning of life is in what we learn about our capacity for love, kindness, generosity and forgiveness. It’s in our acts of creation and in our experience of loss and grief. It’s in our work to […]
Excellence Reporter: Catherine, what is the meaning of life? Catherine Bell: This is a profound confronting question. Philosophers, mystics, scientists, and sages have been examining this question for a very long time. Some might say it is to discover what the meaning of life is. And responses to this […]
Excellence Reporter: Prof. Klein, what is the meaning of life? Melanie Klein: The question is all at once incredibly broad and deeply personal. In the most general sense, I believe the meaning of life hinges on our journey to accessing, feeling and becoming an expression of divine love. […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Alexander, what is the meaning of life? Ronald Alexander: For me the meaning of life has three tributaries as forks in this great river of time in our lives ~ purpose, fate and destiny. The first fork in the river of time is purpose. This […]
Whether it’s looking younger, losing weight, getting rich or finding the meaning of life, we’re all in love with the quick fix. Who among us doesn’t want someone else to give us the answers to life’s biggest questions and challenges in fewer words than a Twitter post? The […]
Excellence Reporter: Greg, what is the meaning of life? Greg McKeown: The meaning in life becomes clear when we admit that there are only two kinds of people in the world: people who are lost; and people who know they are lost. To be in the second category […]
Excellence Reporter: Rose, what is the meaning of life? Rose Caiola: I believe the meaning of life is to feel good about yourself, by doing what makes you happy and fills your heart. It means accepting where you are and being grateful for what you have even when […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Raghunathan, what is the meaning of life? Raj Raghunathan: “What is the meaning of life?” is one of those questions that does not have a universally applicable answer. Why? Because searching for the “meaning” is a uniquely human endeavor (e.g., lions and zebras don’t seek meaning) […]
Excellence Reporter: Mary, what is the meaning of life? Mary Knysh: Although I do not claim to know the meaning of life, I can share what I feel brings meaning to life. It is really quite simple, we are here to share love and gratitude. We are born […]
I have several tattoos, imprinted with invisible ink, of course: “Ask, don’t tell,” and “Think first, speak last.” Both Peter Drucker quotes. The third – “To serve is to live,” is a personal belief, a philosophy I have lived throughout my life. When we truly focus on the common good, service […]
Excellence Reporter: Helene, what is the meaning of life? Helene Bjerg: The meaning of life is about unfolding YOU … then the rest will follow. Clearing the way for this to happen is our foremost task in life. We can fully trust that all the good things we […]
Excellence Reporter: Alexi, what is the meaning of life? Alexi Panos: The meaning of life is the meaning YOU give it. We are creators, and we are, in all moments, creating the reality we see and live in with our thoughts, words and actions. Unfortunately, a lot of […]
Excellence Reporter: Josh, what is the meaning of life? Josh Allan Dykstra: Almost 3 years ago, one of my best friends in the world died after a horrific battle with cancer. He was 34, quite possibly the most talented musician I’ve ever met (and I know a lot of these folks), […]
Consciousness is a way of living. Can we be observant of our actions while we take them; perceive their effects prior to creating them; and ‘see’ what is initiating our actions starting early in our thinking. It is not culturally expected or taught in the Western world and […]
Excellence Reporter: Lauren, what is the meaning of life? Lauren Mackler: “The meaning of life is to become who we were born to be.To remember that we all experience adversity and pain.To be loving and compassionate with ourselves and others.” *** ~Lauren Mackler is an internationally renowned coach, […]
Excellence Reporter: Andrew, what is the meaning of life? Andrew Mellen: I can tell you what it’s not—the accumulation and worship of physical stuff. So much of life seems to be a struggle between poles: fear and love, man-made and naturally occurring, stuff and people. I marvel at […]
The meaning of life is to find meaning in life. We do that through the stories we tell. *** ~Gail Larsen is the founder of Real Speaking® and the award-winning author of Transformational Speaking: If You Want to Change the World, Tell a Better Story. Her work has been […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Howe, what is the meaning of life? Dr. Linda Howe: The opportunity of our human experience is to awaken to our spiritual core, our essential goodness, and to live in the world, rooted in this awareness. Life can be difficult and messy, but the Light within […]
How are we to see life? Is it an existence of meaningless movement from one moment to the next? Or is there a larger purpose in life, something to live for? When we’re young, we think that when we’re all grown up, we’ll have all the answers. We’ll […]
Excellence Reporter: Gregg, what is the meaning of life? Gregg Levoy: I don’t believe there’s a meaning of life—a singular meaning that applies to everyone. I only know the meaning of my life. And even that isn’t a singular entity. What life means to me is the privilege of having it to […]
Excellence Reporter: Azim, what is the meaning of life? Azim Jamal: Life is vast, infinite, endless and incomparable. It continues to remain a mystery, a mystery that can only be experienced and not solved. So in my experience, the very meaning of life is in its living. When examined at […]
Excellence Reporter: Peter, what is the meaning of life? Peter Bregman: I think the question is less: “what is the meaning of life?” and more “How do you find meaning in life?” I find meaning in life everywhere: goodnight kisses from my kids, a hug from my wife, […]
What is the Meaning of Life is an important question for all of us to contemplate. However, I believe that it is also beneficial to reflect on two other questions: What is the meaning of my own life and what is meaningful in my own life? As the […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Pattakos, what is the meaning of life? Alex Pattakos: The Meaning of Life is Meaning. As the world-renowned psychiatrist and existential philosopher, Viktor Frankl, famously espoused, “Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is […]
Excellence Reporter: Jeffrey, what is the meaning of life? Jeffrey Hollender: After the better part of 61 years, thousands of books, decades of therapy, and dozens of mentors and teachers – what I know is that I have only part of the answer to this essential question. The […]
Excellence Reporter: Rick, what is the meaning of Life? Rick Phillips: The meaning of life is really about finding the meaning and purpose that is uniquely your own, it’s your own particular “life force”. I believe that having meaning, which is synonymous with having a reason for living, […]
The meaning of life for me…. Love…..loving my wife and partner, loving my family and friends, loving the work that I do. ~Adrian Swinscoe, former teacher, economist, writer, speaker, manager of businesses and leader of teams. Lover of simplicity and advocate of the human touch with a bit […]
The purpose of life is to complete the long evolutionary journey back to the source of all Consciousness or God from which we have come. It is to know oneself and realize our Creator as LOVE. When we learn to completely and continually sacrifice ourself for the good […]
The meaning of life is what we make of it. At every moment in life we have a choice to find a sense of purpose in whatever it is that we’re doing or observing. We find the sense of purpose by paying attention to where we are and […]
Excellence Reporter: Paul, what is the meaning of life? Paul Sloane: It is up to each of us to define the meaning of our life; to give it a purpose. Of course if you are desperately poor then the purpose of your life is to survive. However, once […]
What is the meaning of life? Shakespeare wrote, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts.” We can’t always control the parts we play, nor the various […]
Excellence Reporter: Michael, what is the meaning of life? Michael J. Gelb: The meaning of life is to make life meaningful. How? By exercising the power of choice, discernment and consciousness to deepen our learning. We don’t have a choice regarding the genetic patterns we’ve inherited, or the […]
What is the meaning of life? The meaning of life is to create, experience and enhance happiness. This includes your own personal happiness, but also the happiness of others. This happiness comes in many forms. The most common of which are your personal and intimate relationships, unabashed love, […]
If there’s one question that’s remained at the forefront of our collective conscience since the birth of humanity, it’s asking the question ‘what’s the meaning of life’. Interestingly, it seems that the answer many of us would give to this question is the pursuit of happiness, which in […]
Excellence Reporter: Mr. Sivaraksa, what is the meaning of life? Sulak Sivaraksa: The meaning of my life is to breathe properly, in order to synchronize my head with my heart, to transform greed, hatred, and delusion in myself to be generosity, loving kindness and wisdom. Buddhism teaches us […]
What is the meaning of life? Philosophical and religious inquiries point people in many directions. Yet there’s at least one commonality: an examined life is built on love. A universal injunction is conveyed in 1 Corinthians 14:1: Pursue Love. Here English lets us down. Oddly for such a […]
Excellence Reporter: John, what is the meaning of life? John Tschohl: I was intrigued by this question and thought about it for a long time. I pondered if I was that one and only person on earth that was given the answer to that question and was now […]
What is the meaning of life? As a climber or the more broader “outdoor adventurer,” it is clear that anyone can point a finger at us and say what we do is not purposeful. They can say we are selfish, and what we do does not feed the […]
Excellence Reporter: Rick, what is the of life? Rick Clemons: I’ve been asked numerous times, by many people, “What do you think the meaning of life is?” Rather than be flippant and answer back, “It’s all relative,” I’ve found that the best answer is “Living a fully self-expressed life and […]
Excellence Reporter: Professor Thornton, what is the meaning of life? Linda Fisher Thornton: I believe that finding meaning in our lives is a lifelong journey of human development, a process of becoming the best possible version of ourselves. How we interpret “the meaning of life” will change as […]
The question “what’s the meaning of life?” is a trap. It gets us looking for something deep, distant, mysterious, or arcane. The question itself leads us awry. It causes us to miss what’s right in front of us. The meaning is in the moment. Those fleeting instants that […]
The meaning of our lives is what we decide it could be/should be. But a ‘life full of meaning’ is typically about finding out what makes each of us truly, deeply happy and fulfilled — what our particular gift is — and then expressing that as fully as […]
Excellence Reporter: Mr. Gegax, what is the meaning of life? Tom Gegax: “To connect with, become one with mankind’s common Universal Source.” *** ~Tom Gegax is an American entrepreneur, best-selling author, speaker, angel investor, and philanthropist.www.gegax.com Copyright © 2015 Excellence Reporter
Excellence Reporter: Shep, what is the meaning of life? Shep Hyken: “Be happy! Figure out what makes you happy, and do it. Happy people make other people happy. Life is so much better when you’re happy.” *** ~Shep Hyken, Chief Amazement Officer at Shepard Presentations, customer service expert […]
The meaning of life is whatever we choose to focus on. Any situation, any event, any piece of communication is open to our interpretation and response. There is no shortage of agents who perpetually try to shape meaning for us — from our families, friends, bosses, peers, clients, […]
Excellence Reporter: John, what is the meaning of life? John Spence: I wish that I could give you something dramatic and expounding, but I’ve studied this subject for nearly all of my adult life, read hundreds of books, listen to countless hours of seminars, talked to many, many people […]
Excellence Reporter: Gigni, what is the meaning of life? Gini Dietrich: The meaning of life is not a one-size-fits-all answer. We all have a different outlook and approach to life. From my perspective, the meaning of life is to be the very best person you can, love the […]
What is the Meaning of Life? The meaning of life is different for each person. It depends mainly on his/hers strengths, his/hers weaknesses, his/hers values, his/hers aspirations and his/hers goals. If I could provide an easy explanation, for me, I would say, that the meaning of life is: to […]
Excellence Reporter: Deb, what is the meaning of life? Deb Mills-Scofield: The meaning of life is to create relationships that make all parties better and whole, to make a positive impact that helps others make a positive impact and so forth. We do this by rushing to discover […]
I think the best answer I can come up with to ‘what’s the meaning of life?’ is to admit that since my early twenties, when I began a very earnest spiritual quest, my search for ‘the meaning of life’ has been an abject failure. That is, I have […]
Excellence Reporter: Jason, what is the meaning of life? Jason Falls: The meaning of life is whatever you wish it to be. Some focus on religion to calm their fears of ever not existing. Some focus on living every minute to its fullest so you optimized your time spent. […]
Excellence Reporter: Irene, what is the meaning of life? Irene Becker: TO me the meaning of life is greatness. GREATNESS that is achieved by recapturing our ability to make a positive difference in our life and in the lives of others. GREATNESS that grows with the relationships we build, and […]
Excellence Reporter: Chip, what is the meaning of life? Chip Bell: We are on this planet to serve others with passion. It is our interconnectedness that is the source of our identity, our sustenance and our purpose. But, service lacks influence and impact without passion. Dissect that word […]
For me, there are two levels to answering the question, “What is a meaningful life?”, because there are two levels to reality. There is, of course, the temporary, conventional side of reality. On this level of reality, there appear to be separate “things” that somehow exist independent from […]
To help one other person ~Barry Moltz is an author and speaker in small business and entrepreneurship. He is a member of the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame, and he taught entrepreneurship as an adjunct professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology. barrymoltz.com Copyright © 2015 Excellence Reporter
Excellence Reporter: Sharlyn, what is the meaning of life? Sharlyn Lauby: The first thing that came to mind was the famous song from Monty Python, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” And I don’t mean that to be cheeky. The meaning of life is about finding […]
I gave my best This may sound mean or unsympathetic, but one of my least favorite sayings is “I gave my best.” To me, it is an unacceptable crutch; I don’t want to hear it. My personal feeling is this: when the goal is to accomplish greatness, go […]
Excellence Reporter: Whitney, what is the meaning of life? Whitney Johnson: To move forward, not back. It’s one of the reasons I am so drawn to innovation. Distilled, innovation is about moving from ‘stuck’ to ‘unstuck’. Why do we move forward? Paraphrasing Samuel Johnson, the ultimate result of […]
Excellence Reporter: Emily, what is the meaning of life? Emily Bennington: “The meaning of life is to receive and extend love unconditionally. Not just to our families, not just to those we deem “worthy”, but to all.” *** ~Emily Bennington s a bestselling author and a student / teacher […]
~Martin Shervington, executive coach, business consultant and marketing psychologist martinshervington.com Copyright © 2015 Excellence Reporter
Excellence Reporte: Tessa, what is the meaning of life? Tessa Greenleaf: I don’t believe that there is one all-encompassing meaning of life. We must each evaluate our own goals, hopes, and desires to identify what will bring us joy and satisfaction. Perhaps that wasn’t the answer you wanted […]
The meaning of life is up to you ~Christopher Avery, President and CEO of Partnerwerks™ christopheravery.com Copyright © 2015 Excellence Reporter
Since I can remember I’ve been fascinated by the question, “What’s the meaning of life?” In graduate school I wrote a 75 page research paper to plummet its elusive depths. Lately though, I see life’s bare boned meaning linked more to deliberate mental filters we choose to walk […]
Excellence Reporter: David, what is the meaning of life? David Dye: As a young man I loved camping in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. Whenever we completed a camping trip, my leaders would have all of us line up, arms outstretched so that our finger tips just touched the finger […]
The meaning of life is hugging my daughters. ~Erik Qualman, The Digital Dale Carnegie, Pulitzer Prize Nominated Author equalman.com Copyright © 2015 Excellence Reporter
Excellence Reporter: Ted, what is the meaning of life? Ted Rubin: “Return on Relationship… look at your own behaviors and ask yourself, “Would I want to be my friend???” Standout by “Liking” them before they “Like” you. Always remember that… Relationships are like muscle tissue, the more they are […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Feiner, what is the meaning of life? Stacy Feiner: I love this question. It is age old. Timeless. It’s enormous and simple. It is never inconsequential. First it conjures up feelings, senses and images: the image of the brilliant night sky in Maine in the summer, […]
Excellence Reporter: Wally, what is the meaning of life? Wally Bock: I don’t think there is a “meaning of life” in general. There’s only the meaning of your life and you define that by how you spend your time and your money. The test comes when you’ve been […]
To help people really know themselves and their life’s work… pay attention to their intentions… get from where they are to where they want to be… and… have greater self-awareness, be on purpose, develop their signature talents and embrace a sense of well-being. We live in an economy where we don’t have to tolerate jobs we hate. For […]
Excellence Reporter: Ann, what is the meaning of life? Ann Handley: “The meaning of life is to find the place where you belong. “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet,” wrote Frederick Buechner. He’s spot-on, even […]
What are we all here for? I believe strongly that the meaning of life is about being present, doing our best to live in the current moment and nowhere else. One of the final gifts my mom gave me was this lesson. She was waging a courageous battle […]
Excellence Reporter: Mark, what is the meaning of life? Mark Schaefer: I read this little book — almost a pamphlet really — called “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl. There was a line in there that has always haunted me: “To be human is to suffer.” As […]
The meaning of life is making other people’s lives more meaningful ~Adam Grant is Wharton’s top-rated teacher. He has been recognized as one of HR’s most influential international thinkers. Adam was tenured at Wharton while still in his twenties, and has received the Excellence in Teaching Award for every class […]
What is the meaning of life? I believe each of us is here on earth to make a contribution. To give and to serve. To stand up for what is right, even when doing so is uncomfortable. To take our blessings and pay them forward to encourage others. […]
I believe that the meaning of life is different for every person, and it is constantly changing and evolving. I believe that the meaning of life is not necessarily a broad definition or a generalization that we live with for a lifetime. Instead, it is what is meaningful […]
Excellence Reporter: Chris, what is the meaning of life? Chris Edmonds: We live in a rat race. The fast pace of modern life does not easily allow authentic connections. Marketing messages tell us we’re too heavy, too slow, too gray. We don’t have the right friends. We’re not […]
Excellence Reporter: Kevin, what is the meaning of life? Kevin Roberts: “Make the world a better place for everyone — by making Happy Choices.” *** ~Kevin Roberts CNZM is the New York-based Executive Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi – one of the world’s leading creative organizations – and Head […]
It’s pretty simple: To provide the experiences our souls need to gain sufficient awareness to transcend into higher states of being. ~David Allen is a productivity consultant who is best known as the creator of the time management method known as “Getting Things Done”gettingthingsdone.com Copyright © 2015 Excellence […]
What is the meaning of life? Life is so profound, enormous and ever-expanding that it has no meaning. When I photograph birds, I learn something about life. A bird, enlivened by the same life energy as us, never goes around trying to find the meaning of life. It […]
What is the meaning of life? Many people commenting on this will use the metaphor of a journey. Certainly this is where I started my journey of attempting to answer this question. For me a life journey is where a series of events is connected but only by […]
The request for my thoughts about the meaning of life came at the same time that I received a frightening medical report. Both focused my attention on why and how one lives a life of meaning. When I think about the immensity of the universe and see pictures […]
The meaning of life for me, is all about stewardship. It’s about making sure that the world you find is in a better shape when you leave than how it was when you arrived. It’s about helping others, not just about helping yourself. That doesn’t mean that we […]
One of the problems is that we all think the meaning of life is something different, when really it is the same, and we just have different experiences. There is also the distinction of having meaning to live our lives, and the overarching meaning of life collectively. Over […]
What is the meaning of life? It is said that “life is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift to God.” When I was a teenager, I decided that if I could make people either a little bit wiser or a little bit […]
Excellence Reporter: Francis, what is the meaning of life? Francis Kong: “Life gives us meaning when we love God with all of our heart soul strength and mind and then we love our neighbors as ourselves. In other words, the meaning of life is to love God and […]
Excellence Reporter: Orrin, what is the meaning of life? Orrin Woodward: That is a profound question. To me, human beings are like pilgrims sent on a journey to earth by God Himself. Each person is provided a body, mind, and a spirit that he/she is responsible to develop […]
Excellence Reporter: Julie, what is the meaning of life? Julie Winkle Giulioni: “Life is all about contribution. It’s about identifying and cultivating one’s strengths, unique abilities, talents and gifts… and then finding as many ways as possible to bring them to bear in a way that helps others, […]
Excellence Reporter: David, what is the meaning of life? David Zinger: Douglas Adams gave the shortest answer to the meaning of life, 42. I believe there are many meanings to life not a singular meaning. I believe that we don’t find a meaning to life, we create it […]
I believe we find our meaning in the way our lives unfold. There’s a unique personal journey in that, and it is about discovering who we are when we finally unfold the last crease in our being. I call that unfolded state “wholeness.” We touch that wholeness with […]
The meaning of life is to develop your authentic true self, your unique gifts and to use them in service to and with others. The creativity that comes from the synergy of different peoples’ gifts creates new ideas, new aspects of civilization and literally new people. We develop […]
What is the meaning of life? We’re here to make others happy. It really is that simple. Through our speech and actions, in big gestures and in small every-day ways, we influence everyone around us. And the meaning of life is to make sure that people around you […]
Excellence Reporter 