Colleges and universities are full of examples of people wanting to make it. They want their names to be written down in history. They want to be remembered for the great things they wrote, the great things they discovered or the great things they built.

Just take a look around you at the names of the buildings and libraries. They were paid for by people who wanted their names to be remembered long after they are gone.

But, as great as they were, did they realise that nothing can ever be remembered forever? That everything in life is impermanent and constantly changing?

Nothing really belongs to us. Our favourite pair of shoes are only in our possessions, until they become worn or lost. Our bikes and cars are only ours until they are stolen, sold or passed on. Even our names are not really ours because they are just labels attached to our physical bodies – which will eventually be gone too.

And yet, some people dedicate their whole lives to financial or intellectual greatness, at what cost? So that a few generations of people will remember them. But what will happen when those people forget? Was your life wasted?

There isn’t an answer or solution to impermanence. After all, everything is impermanent except for impermanence itself. So, what can you do?

You can be the best that you can be, now. Live life to your full potential, discover and write great things, cultivate amazing relationships, help people, be inspired, inspire others and don’t worry about after. Just think about what you can do to make life better for people today, and do it.

If you live a good life, other people will know it, and maybe they’ll write it down, but the most important thing is that you did your best, and that is something nobody can take away from you.