Deathbedv0.2.1
You come into this life crying while everyone around you is laughing. Your objective is to leave this life laughing, while everyone around you is crying. – Rumi
If you can answer the question are you happy in your life? with a definite yes, you’re then faced with the harder question: are you happy about your life?
One way to answer the latter is to imagine yourself on your deathbed and sense whether you’d feel fulfilled about your life.
As I reflect on this, I realized that my accomplishments so far aren’t the kind that would make me feel fulfilled. So, what kind of accomplishments would?
For me, right now, it feels like it’s the knowledge of having improved part of someone’s life. When I think about the people whose lives I’ve affected positively, it makes me feel grounded and more connected on a human level.
So I decided to start Project 40. The goal of this project is to fundamentally improve part of the lives of 40 people.
Criteria to count someone’s life as improved: after their voluntary involvement in Project 40, they will have a tool necessary to improve part of their life for as long as they live. Furthermore, they can subjectively say with full confidence that their life is better because of Project 40.
Project 40 is an internal name. I only know of its existence. To my fellow participants, they will see it differently. For example, a six year old daughter of a struggling family in Mexico might see it as English school. To an aspiring entrepreneur, she might see it as recurring business advice and support until her business succeeds.
Concerns
What if I don’t have the means to help financially anymore?
I will reach out to my friends for donations and try and get Project 40 participants support until my situation changes.
What if I don’t have the time to be available for non financial contribution?
Depending on the type of help, I will either find a friend that can help me out until my time is regained or I will pay for professional help to keep participants on their path.
What if I don’t get to 40 people before I die?
I feel like this kind of pressure is generally positive. It gives me a bigger reason than myself to attempt to increase my income in order to be able to help out more people in more ways.