The True Meaning of Life. | Joel Testa | TEDxAkron

Entrepreneur and philanthropist, Joel Testa shares his thoughts on the meaning of life and why we are on this planet.

Recently named the 2018 National Real Estate Developer of the Year, Joel speaks to cities across the US about building vibrant places, but in this talk he explains why most human beings fall into a trap of chasing money instead of life’s true meaning. He touches on the need to find your true purpose and to reprioritize what little time we have on this planet. Joel A. Testa, President and Chief Operating Officer of Testa Companies.

The Testa Companies include 7 corporations that handle every facet of the real estate and construction industry. From design, development and construction to sales, management and building maintenance.

Testa Companies was founded in 1967 and has twice made the INC Magazines list of fastest growing privately held companies in the US. Along with many other accolades both locally and nationally, Testa is the only contractor to be named Builder of the Year 4 times by the Home Builders Association. Testa’s portfolio spans several states, includes over 700 properties and more than 2 million square feet of office, retail, medical and educational facilities. Testa has developed over 6,000 mixed use and residential units and at one time was producing as many as 1,500 homes per year. Joel has helped develop several notable projects including the first aids housing facility and first vertical parade of homes site in the country. His architecture and design firm has won local and national praise including the recent expansion of Crocker Park, a mixed use lifestyle development in Westlake, OH, tying an existing retail center into the new American Greeting’s world headquarters. In addition to architecture, Mota works with city’s to assist in urban planning and creates branding for it’s corporate clients.

Joel Testa was named one of Crain’s Business Magazines 30 under 30, a finalist in the Earnest and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and served on Governor Strickland’s advisory board.

In addition to his role at Testa Companies, Joel is also the cofounder and partner of Mota Design Group, the Formerly Homeless Foundation and BYTE dining group, where he has been instrumental in creating and launching several restaurant and bar concepts with Chef partner Dante Boccuzzi including the recently opened Dante’s Inferno. He serves on several boards at the local, state and national level. He is a Past President of the Home Builder’s Association serving Summit and Portage Counties, a board member for Habitat for Humanity, S& T Bank and Director for the National Association of Home Builders. Joel was named the marketing and advertising person of the year by the Home Builders Marketing and Merchandising Council and voted one of the top 10 leaders to follow in Northeast Ohio.

He is a national speaker and has been featured at several conferences throughout the country speaking on development and growth.

[jebediahkerman]

The meaning of life is for us to experience what we want to experience and help others achieve that experience

[robertportillo]

Well done I enjoyed this talk and I listen to a few hundred of them. As a father I can relate. May I also suggest that you add to your presentation how important it is to help others. There's been a lot of research done that shows that this is the number one way to be a happy individual. So now as a father because I want to raise happy children Above All Else, I am going out of my way to do nice things for other people with them.

[davidmejiarebolledo]

"money cant fill the hole that a lack of purpose creates"

[JawJX]

very good tedtalk, one of the best but so underrated

[matthewtenney]

If you think that there is something larger to life, then you are assuming God. It seems to me that once you consider God as a possibility, then the obvious meaning and purpose of life is to seek out and know God. And that, in fact, is an important part of the Christian idea. And we seek and come to know God by trying to obey His command to love one another for where love is, there God is also.

[chengfusaechao]

From young age>play with

Responsiblities what so
ever & now that we grow
Up to be adults>we work
make money, pay bills, etc
have 1hour of free time to do what we want
..i want to write a book..
but where do i begin?!!!!
i hate my

[anthonyesparsen]

All these actors thinking they know why we are here, but they don't even know themselves

[ducks_lily]

Places I want to go/do/have before i die:
universal studio
Disney land
Some meet and greets
Have a awesome time with my friends

[johno]

'The Meaning Of Life' -anagram - 'The Fine Game Of Nil'.

[phy]

When you will discover things that you have never imaginate at all you will think that we dont even need a sens of life .... but if i give you the real sens of life it will not please you so much for human being is about ask the good questions but for asgard is find the good equation ....

[matthewtenney]

definition of meaning: "intended to communicate something that is not directly expressed" So it is intention, communication and an intelligible message. Nature doesn't send intelligent messages. And that implies and requires God. What Mr. Testa is talking about is a feeling, only a feeling. What gives us a feeling of having been sent a message? Our own imagination. Send yourself a message and then find it and pretend you didn't send it.

[newparadigmfish]

The fundamental error lies in trying to give meaning to man, when man is merely a conduit. A biological conduit with a loose ego designed to conduct a greater force. Imagine it as a cable/conduit with electricity running through it. Man is the cable and the electricity is consciousness. Consciousness is trying to give meaning to itself.

I am a set of a’ priori modes, not a body of limbs and organs. We need to move beyond the notion of “We”. Human is a loose notion at best. In essence, the body conduit has no fixed predicate in the abstract lens so the premise is incorrect. What is it of us, that knows this?
Until we know more, we are a set of a’ priori modes trying to stabilise our line in an ocean of dissipating variables. We should define ourselves in this manner. We are a set of modes that allow for systematic alignment. A set synthesised with realities structures and stresses. Understanding this is the next step. Everything else is tied up in a field of inverted axioms and that path is a dead end.

It keeps going round in circles. One has to look through the phenomenological lens if they want beyond this primitive, half developed monkey head paradigm but who’s really ready for that path.

If you want to understand the modes - YouTube - new paradigm fish by Yap. Stripping it right back.

Alternatively- read my work for free on medium. New paradigm fish Yap.

[anthonyesparsen]

Guys there is a saying knowledge is power, but I say the right knowledge is powerful to your life, not just any knowledge is good for you most knowledge is wasted time

[Angtony]

The meaning of life is to search the meaning of life and try to do the meaning of life

[tatsumiknight]

I hear the Manti Pageant is famous... I wonder why. Guess ill never know. You should ask the guy in the long coat. If I spelt that wrong I'm sorry. Besides he's only there one or two time a day. Ask him what the true meaning of life is. If he say it to you, you say it's everything. He'll tell you the secrets of the world well as much as he knows anyways. Go and find him if you can that is...

[Globalprospective]

Imagine everything will have an end except eternity. So believe or don't believe the greater good is pointless. So what could be the point of life? Maybe some book has the answer. Bible is a good place to start looking.

[philbear]

This is about the meaning of man's life. Or at least it tries to, in a very narrow way. The rest of the universe does not exist in this talk.

[jeffgibons]

Truth is the most important thing which is there is no god

[Hijodeganas]

I agree with his comments on having children. Everything else was basically drivel.

[ytk]

The meaning of life is to submit to the will of God.