Someone on Quora asked:

How can I make something of my life?
I am 19 years old and feel like I am going no where in life. Since I left Sixth Form/College in 2013, I have done nothing productive with my life. Everyone I went to school with has a job, progressing through life, picking up skills and confidence as they earn money building something for themselves no matter how small it may be, yet I have not gone onto pursue a career.

I am 47 and feel the same way sometimes.

I am going to suggest a number of things that help/have helped me get out of my many ruts in life.

One, bring excellence and intent to everything you do, even if it's “chilling.” Do it with a purpose. Find a why inside of that that lights you up. “Chill” with a friend to make that person's life better. You might find you like chilling. Chill with an elderly person. Get curious about that person's life. Ask them to share their own experiences. Chill to learn. You might find that a lot of people have been stuck and have felt like you do now. Some have made a life out of chilling. Others have found that chilling has its place, but that they were much happier when they were used to a purpose they believed in.

Two, take any damned job, but bring excellence to it. If you are waiting tables, consider what you can do to make every customer's experience memorable. You'll develop an art in being with people, and that can be re-purposed to any other profession in life.

Three, make an inventory of everything you've ever done, and how these things, especially the positive ones made you feel. You might find that your best time was playing with dogs. You could walk them, learn to train them, bring up guide dogs, become a dog handler for the police, or decide you want to be their doctor. Read the Art of Work, by Jeff Goins. He goes into this.

Four, write down ten ideas a day. It's tough, but it turns you into an idea machine. You'll start noticing connections that you never saw before, your ideas will start having sex, and you might come up with the next internet craze, or just work that you love. For this one the credit goes to James Altucher. Follow him on-line. He's been in holes you might have trouble imagining.

Five, just get good at something. Maybe you've always thought it was neat to juggle. Pick up three tennis balls and start. (Maybe you have to start with one; that's okay too). You might find yourself with a juggling gig with your service dog (who also juggles) at old age homes.

Six, and I can't stress this enough, Get Enough Sleep and Get Some Exercise every day, even if it's a ten minute walk.

Seven, reach out to your people and ask them how you can make a difference in their lives.

Eight, Gratitude. Make a list of three things you are grateful for every day, and then reach out and thank someone.

I could go on forever, but if you take any decent part of this on, You'll be Flying in no time.