(Today is a guest post by Matthew Hooper. I’m still in Las Vegas, so thanks to Matthew for stepping in with a guest post.)

I really appreciate the opportunity to write a guest post here for Benny. The thing that I admire the most about Benny is his get busy living approach to life. There isn’t anyone out there that can argue that Benny doesn’t wait around asking for permission to get busy. He simply gets busy.

There’s an App for That

The most recent example of this is how Benny put his head down and came up with an app for the iTunes App Store. This isn’t an app that just got lost in the depths of the iTunes store, this is an app that quickly became a hit and earned $4,739 in a single weekend! His app later went on to get featured as App of the Week in the iTunes App Store, which turned the app into an even bigger success.

This may appear to have happened overnight but really it didn’t. Benny will be the first one to tell you that he spent seven months getting this app developed. Benny wasn’t an expert in app development when he started. He simply got busy with his idea and turned it into a success because of his willingness to get busy.

Backing Up a Bit

If we backup even further, Benny got to a point in his life where he wanted to set some goals and make a change. He also wanted to get to a point where he was able to earn a living online and live the way he wanted to live. One of the things that he did in the beginning was that he got busy building his internet presence and you can too.

You can start by getting your blog up and running. You don’t even need to be an expert at building websites. The whole process is very simple if you go out and find the right tools for the job. You might be thinking that you can’t build your own website and you might be right. However, let’s rephrase that statement a little. Maybe what you should have said is that you don’t know how to build your own website… right now. Things can change.

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(Today’s guest post is written by language coach Aaron Myers, who shared a story with me of writing and mailing letters to his future self between the ages of 25-50. Blown away by that, I asked him to write to share his story.)

Benny’s blog post, What I Would Say to Myself Five Years Ago and Five Years From Now reminded me of my own letter writing adventure.

While Benny’s letters were inspired by a writing project called #trust30 and Corbett Barr’s question, my journey began with fear and has lead to a life filled with receiving letters from myself. In the beginning though, it began with a conversation.

It was 1995. I was twenty one, a junior in college and preeminently occupied with the idealistic irrationality of youth. But then one night I got scared. I was enjoying a good talk under an expanse of Kansas stars with a friend. Conversation ranged in and out of dreams and challenges and faith and eventually, our fears.

Chris shared her heartache over a relationship with a father who - while a good man - never really understood her. They were like two strangers, who after sharing a home for eighteen years, had now parted company. She cried at the loss. And I shook with fear.

The proclamation that her father did not know her set me back and I wondered at the overwhelming challenge that one day fatherhood would bring.

That night as I walked through quiet streets to my apartment on the edge of town, I decided that I did not want that lot in life. I determined to do something to avoid such a fate, to avoid raising a daughter with whom I had no relationship.

And so I did what any reasonable English major would do.

I got out a sheaf of college ruled paper, brewed a pot of coffee and wrote a long letter of challenge and encouragement and warning to myself to be received on the day my first daughter was born.

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Today’s guest post is by the brilliant Stuart Mills who writes at Unlock the Door. I used a video for the intro because the concept, the creativity, the music and the traveling, got me excited about life.

Ever get really excited about something?

I hope you have. The feeling of excitement is an important part of being human. It means we get to generate feelings of joy and happiness and adrenaline. That pumped up sensation courses through our veins, and we truly believe that we can take on the world. We feel that whatever it is that we’re doing, is the very reason why we were born.

What gets us excited? It could be anything in the world. For some, it may be complex things such as tackling a major project at work, or getting ready to live abroad. For others, it may be simple things like spending a romantic meal with your loved one, or reading a good book. No matter what it actually is, the key is that you get excited about it. Everybody gets excited about something, right?

In theory, “yes”, everybody does get excited about ‘something’, but look at the people around the streets and the towns, and you’ll see that this theory hasn’t quite worked out in practice. There are many miserable faces. There are many dejected souls. These people haven’t found excitement, and it’s sad to watch whole lives drift by like this. Changes need to be made.

There Are No Spare Parts

If you asked 100 people what their ‘life-purpose’ was, the majority of them wouldn’t even know what you were talking about. If pushed, they’d probably respond with vague answers involving raising their kids or getting a better job, or even washing the car more often. If you asked me what I believe a ‘life-purpose’ is, I’d respond very differently.

Here’s what I think about life-purposes - everybody has a reason to be here on this planet. There are no spare people who can’t do anything other than drift around and live unfulfilling lives. If you’re living and breathing, then you have a specific reason to be here right now. Whether that reason is a grand one involving building great structures, or a simpler one such as helping your local community to grow, we all have a reason to live for. And do you want to know the useful part? Whatever your reason is, you’re going to get excited about it. Continue Reading…