<center><h1>Whose Goals?</h1></center> Everyone has an opinion about what you should do with your life. Your parents want you in college. Society wants you climbing the corporate ladder. Instagram wants you grinding 24/7. These pressures come at you endlessly because the world wants you to live a 'successful life.' Here's the problem: most people never stop to ask what success means to them. They nod along, absorbing others' definitions of success like a sponge. Before they know it, they're chasing someone else's dream, living someone else's life. You want my definition of success? I don't have one for you. And I wouldn't give it to you if I did. There are plenty of people ready to tell you what success looks like - you don't need another voice in that choir. What you need is to think critically about what YOU want. But there's a catch: most people would rather be told what to do than face the discomfort of this question. It's easier to follow the crowd than to chart your own course. Let's look at the college pipeline. 60% of Americans attend college directly after high school and 90% of them[^1] have only a vague notion of what they're doing there aside from blowing up their finances. Their parents, teachers, and society hammered this message home every day of their adolescent lives. 'Get a degree, get rich!' The logic seemed bulletproof. After all, it worked for some of them (back when college cost about as much as a used car). Instead they have kids with crippling debt and mediocre career prospects. Huzzah! This is what happens when we blindly inherit goals. Let's break down this multigenerational failure: The Parents' Story: They meant well - their intentions were so good they paved a highway straight to hell. They wanted 'success' for their kids, but never bothered asking what success actually meant. Some said, "I just want my kid to be happy" (apparently happiness comes with monthly loan payments). Others wanted financial success - "Just pick one of the good jobs, kiddo!" But then - _oh no!_ - their precious offspring chose Art History. These parents made a critical error: they forgot to program their children with the right career choices. The audacity of their kids to pursue their own interests! The Students' Story: Picture yourself at 16 or 17, being asked to make life-altering decisions. Not exactly peak wisdom years, but here we are. A critically thinking teenager (rare as they might be) would ask: - Why is everyone pushing college so hard? - Do I actually want this, or am I just following the script? - What other paths could I take? But most don't ask these questions. They don't know how. Nobody taught them to question the path laid out before them. Nobody showed them how to separate their own goals from the ones they've inherited. The real tragedy isn't just the debt - it's the mindless adoption of someone else's life plan. Whether you choose college or not isn't the point. The point is knowing why you're choosing it." I see this pattern constantly: men who diligently checked all the prescribed boxes—degree, job, promotion, house—only to find themselves thinking, "Now what?" They hit all these life goals and life still feels hollow. They just replace one achievement with the next one in line, trapped on a treadmill of someone else's making. That emptiness isn't coincidental. It's the inevitable result of pursuing goals you never critically examined. When success feels empty, it's often because it's not your version of success at all. It's just the next expected milestone on someone else's roadmap. The stakes here go far beyond practical outcomes. This is about avoiding the quiet desperation of reaching the summit only to realize you've been climbing the wrong mountain all along. It's about building a life that feels meaningful to you, not just impressive to others. So where does this leave you? At a crossroads. The real choice isn't between conventional and unconventional paths. College, career, family - these aren't inherently wrong goals. Many people genuinely want these things and thrive within them. The actual crossroads is between thoughtless acceptance and conscious choice. The world doesn't need another drone following someone else's blueprint. It needs men who know their minds, who set goals that align with their values, and who pursue those goals with intention. Critical thinking isn't just some academic exercise — it's your defense against living someone else's life. Use it to filter through the noise. Use it to test whether a goal is truly yours or just something you've absorbed from Instagram, your parents, or society's expectations. Your goals should be yours. Not your father's. Not your professor's. Not some influencer's. YOURS. So before you chase another goal, ask yourself: "Whose goal is this, anyway?" Your answer will determine whether you end up building your life — or somebody else's. The choice is yours. Always has been.