On Redefining Purpose and the Pursuit of Happiness

One of my favorite talks from the TEDxUniversityofNevada event came from Logan LaPlante, a 13 year old self-described “curious and creative wingnut,” whose currently taking a non-traditional path in his education. Logan began his talk with the observation that education today seems to be curiously focused on how to make a living, rather than how to make a life. He wanted to know: “why is being happy and healthy not considered education?” In referencing one of the most popular TED talks of all time, given by Sir Ken Robinson on the need for non-traditional education in a society where current educational needs have outgrown the confines of their existing structures, he outlined the various ways Robinson’s talk is so important and how he personally is applying this approach to his learning.

Logan LaPlante

LaPlante really hit the nail on the head when he talked about the importance of making a life rather than simply making a living. As he discussed his creative approach to education known as “hackschooling,” which he refers to as a remix or mashup of learning that never loses sight of making happy and healthy a priority, and “living the grom life,” the theme soon emerged from the event that focusing on happiness might just be the key to living a most fulfilling, purposeful, and successful life.

Logan LaPlante

Luckily for Brian Williams, founder of the non-profit organization Think Kindness, he figured this out at an early age as well. During his sophomore year of college, Brian was ranked the “#1 Integrated Marketing and Advertising Student in the Nation” by the American Advertising Federation and received the “Marketing Professional of the Year” award for Northern Nevada for his participation in the Toyota Matrix ad campaign. Shortly after achieving this recognition, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a “suit and tie” job as Marketing Director for the largest commodities brokerage firm in Orange County. But, he felt something was missing. In his talk, he mentioned how he continually felt as though he was chasing an emotional feeling that he wanted out of life after having “made it” in the corporate world, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint what that was. With the help of his childhood martial arts instructor, he was able to hash out the fact that he knew he wanted to help people in a more meaningful way. He was asked, “What would the impact be if you could inspire 1,000,000 Acts of Kindness?” Hence, a light bulb went off, and Think Kindness was born.

Brian Williams

To date, Brian has documented more than 250,000 Acts of Kindness, he has spoken to over 75,000 students, and received the Thornton Peace Prize. He has been endorsed by governors, senators, mayors, and by dozens of school principals. By honoring the pursuit of happiness and finding meaning in his own life first before reaching out to help others, he has been able to affect change in a more profound way that he could have previously accomplished without having taken the time to ask “what makes me happy?”

Brian Williams

In a similar vein, Washoe County School District superintendent Pedro Martinez discussed the path his life took from Mexico, emigrating with his family to a poor area of Chicago as a small child, and succeeding against all odds throughout his years in the school system, eventually graduating from college with the highest of honors, and becoming a sought after business consultant. He noted that at that point in his life, he truly felt as though he had made it. From being raised by parents with only a second grade education, to becoming an advisor to some of America’s top CEOs, he had truly hit his stride. However, he was soon feeling the pull to return education where he knew he could make a bigger difference.

Pedro Martinez

Martinez began working with large institutions as the director of finance and technology for the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, which sparked his interest in education. He then served as chief financial officer and budget director of Chicago Public Schools (nation’s third largest school district) for almost seven years. Through these initiatives, he next became the deputy superintendent of the Clark County School District overseeing 357 schools, and is currently superintendent for the Washoe County School District, overseeing the success of the District’s 93 schools.

Pedro Martinez, Lauren Ford and Deyanira Baca

In hearing these personal stories about re-defining purpose and finding meaning in life via the pursuit of happiness, it’s difficult to deny that the pursuit of health and happiness may just hold the key to a robust and multi-faceted, highly personalized path to education. After all, LaPlante did make the wise observation: “Once you’re motivated to learn something, you can really get a lot done in a small amount of time.”

Photography provided by Theresa Danna Douglas.