Long

There is no better use of a life than to be attentive to such needs. There are as many ways to do this as there are kinds of loneliness, but all of them require presence, all of them require the hard work of human computing.

For in learning how to be a nobody, you will learn how not to be a jerk. You will tip well. You will empathize. You will be a mentor, and a generous one.

Be vigilant in the struggle toward empathy. Consider the Happy Birthday Sir Despite the Circumstances possibility — the possibility that the lives and experiences of others are as complex and unpredictable as your own.

Remember the Holland in your life. When you've ascended these great heights and done these great things, go back and find that person and say, 'I've come a long way in life and I just wanted to tell you that you had something to do with that.'

You must always make the path for yourself. There is no secret society out there that will tap you on the shoulder one night and show you the way.

If you must find your own path, and we have left you no easy path, then decide now to choose the hard path that leads to the life and the world that you want.

Do not take no for an answer. Not when you're applying for jobs. Not when you actually get a job. The food court at the mall is littered with people who didn't fight for it. Fight for it.

If you think that happiness means total peace, you will never be happy. Peace comes from the acceptance of the part of you that can never be at peace. That will always be in conflict. If you accept that, everything gets a lot better.

You do not pass through this life. It passes through you. You experience it, you interpret it, you act, and then it is different. That happens constantly. You are changing the world. You always have been.

Don't just be yourself. Be all of yourselves. Don't just live. Be that other thing connected to death. Be life. Live all of your life. Understand it, see it, appreciate it. And have fun.

One of the greatest threats we face is, simply put, bullshit. We are drowning in it. We are drowning in partisan rhetoric that is just true enough not to be a lie; in industry-sponsored research; in social media's imitation of human connection.

Learn to trust yourself. That's very vital. Just stand with yourself. Remember, in his lifetime, Van Gogh sold only two paintings. I personally sold even fewer.