Self-Made Man: The Rules of Purpose | Reading of Moral Armor CH4P19

A purpose, to be valid, must obey three rules: Rule 1:All Purposes must be self-defined.Our portal to creative action must be defined by our cognitive tools. It is not only an epistemological derivation, but a physiological one, determining not only what we will do, but where we must start and at what speed we can travel. Rule 2:Purpose must be existentially based.As it is an abstract concept derived from the biological need for cognitive integration, its subject must also be existential, exercising human thought and action applicable in our universe. Rule 3:The central focus must be ourselves.As the very architect of our capacities, purpose mustrevolve around us. A proper purpose does not require others or their agreement, or any specific outside cognitive power. As we move, we remain its constant center. Though we may employ others to see its facets to fruition, no one man is irreplaceable beyond ourselves. We are its essential contributor—the prime mover—without whom it cannot continue. Our purpose is a product of our consciousness and therefore dies with us, though our legacy may remain.