How a Dubstep Throwback Showed me the Meaning of Life

The emotion of awe refers to a feeling of great respect sometimes mixed with fear or surprise.

I’ll never forget the first time I experienced awe when I was introduced to the sound of dubstep in my freshers year of university.

The massive bass drops and wubwubs vibrated through my body and transported me to another planet. I couldn’t believe I was experiencing something created by another human being.

But in the midst of this euphoria was a nagging feeling that I’d never be able to achieve the same impact on the world myself.

Here lies the problem that I want to solve with you today.

It’s a slightly different route into life philosophy but I gained a whole new perspective on life recently when I heard a throwback dubstep track.

Yep a dubstep song taught me something profound about the meaning of life. And before you ask, no other substances were involved.

Born to do it

Back in the day, i.e 2008! My dubstep era began with every other person in the student accommodation blasting bass from subwoofers at any opportunity so people knew how cool they were. It was a simpler time.

I remember one track in particular—‘Born to Do It’ by Casper and Rusko—was a part of the regular rotation. But it wasn’t just the beats that stuck with me; it was a specific voice sample in the song that, years later, brought me the revelation.

It goes like this:

A young boy asks, “How does he do it?”

And an older gentleman replies, “My dear boy, do you ask a fish how it swims?”

Young boy: “No”

Older gentleman: “A bird how it flies?”

Young boy: “No”

Older gentleman: “No siree, you don’t. They do it because they were born to do it.”

Now, at the time, I didn’t give it much thought beyond it being a cool addition to the track.

So lets breakdown this revelation of the words meaning I discovered recently.

The man is essentially saying that greatness isn’t something learned or acquired—it's something innate, something we’re born with.

Just like how a fish swims or a bird flies naturally, each of us has something we were born to do, something that comes as naturally to us as breathing.

This idea hit me much deeper than the bass of 2008 did and I began to think about what it means for our lives.

When you witness greatness in another person through your own lens of life it can seem unfathomable.

This is because the achievement is specific to THEIR life not YOURS.

No matter how much you want to emulate them, the fact is that there are individual factors involved which can’t be exactly replicated by anyone but them.

They are the ONE.

But there’s no need to despair because the truth is-- we’re all born to do it.

We’re all born with an innate sense of what makes us come alive.

What ‘IT’ is… is completely unique to YOU and is triggered by YOUR life experience.

Birds fly, fish swim- they JUST DO IT. There’s no other competing thoughts or judgements from outside of them that gets in the way of their innate thing, their IT.

I realised that the pursuit of this innate ‘something’ is what gives our lives meaning.

And you shouldn’t feel bad for not being able to emulate someone else’s success or not being able to fit into a predefined mold.

This is because life is about discovering what you were uniquely created to do—and then doing it.

When you find ‘IT’ you unlock a secret inner energy source that pushes you along a path that only you can take.

The name of this path is Self-Actualization.

Self-Actualization

Self-actualization is the pinnacle of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a psychological theory you’ve probably come across at some point.

Maslow suggested that once our basic needs like food, safety, and love—are met, we strive for something greater…

The need to become the most that we can be.

This is self-actualization. It’s about reaching your full potential and living a life that’s true to who you are.

So, how does this connect to the meaning of life? Well, the voice sample in that dubstep track is essentially pointing us towards self-actualization.

It’s a reminder that each of us has a unique path, a purpose that we’re born to fulfil.

This purpose isn’t something external; it’s internal. It’s about tapping into that innate potential and letting it guide us. And importantly letting it traverse obstacles that lie along the path.

For example some people will see Lebron James and comment

“I couldn’t train as many hours as he does in the gym, there’s no way”

And to them that training is an obstacle that feels the same as a fish who sees a bird flying and comments,

“I don’t have wings I can’t do that”

My point is that obstacles only exist in your mind based on how you interpret them. Its not impossible for someone to do the same training as Lebron.

But they believe that it is, they feel they don’t have these wings because the wings don’t exist within their mind.

At the end of the day there’s no obstacle you can’t overcome when you have an innate desire for something. This is what creates the wings.

Olympic Inspiration

This brings me to a reflection on the recent  2024 Paris Olympics.

Watching those athletes compete was nothing short of inspiring. But what really struck me was seeing these individuals who have clearly found their ‘IT’—the thing they were born to do.

You’re experiencing:

• Gymnasts defying the laws of gravity.
• Swimmers and sprinters who’ve train years on end 24/7 for split-seconds of victory.
• Heroes emerging to clutch victory for their team in the face of immense mental pressure.

These are people pushing themselves to their absolute limits.

These athletes are reaching the pinnacle of self-actualization.

And they didn’t just stumble upon greatness—they pursued it with everything they had because they were born to do it.

And when they finally achieve their dreams, we get to witness something extraordinary:

Human beings reaching their full potential.

And we watch in awe saying things like, “Its crazy how good they are”, “Its insane!”

But what it really is, is a powerful reminder of what’s possible when you find your own ‘IT’ and commit to it wholeheartedly.

Summary

Life isn’t about following someone else’s path—it’s about finding your own.

‘Born to Do It’ means that greatness is within you because you were born to do something that only you can do.

The challenge is discovering what that is, and then pursuing it with everything you’ve got.

Here’s one final thought:

Imagine a world where everyone discovered their ‘IT’ and pursued it relentlessly. A world where each of us swam in a sea of greatness living out our true purpose.

The truth is, we’re all capable of greatness, but it starts with believing that you were born to do something special.

So, go out there, find your ‘IT,’ and start living the life you were born to live.

Because you, my friend, were born to do it.

That’s all for now

Lewis