The fastest way to figure out if you're doing something truly important with your life
Now, think about how much money would it take to part ways with that.
Is there a price someone could pay for you to give it up? Or, do you love it so much it's not for sale?
Asking yourself that question is the quickest way to learn how important something is to you, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel says.
On Friday, Spiegel gave a commencement speech to USC's class of 2015. During his ten-minute speech, Spiegel offered advice to his peers about resisting conformity and figuring out how to chase their dreams.
He touched on the fact that Snapchat had a chance to sell for billions of dollars and turned it down. It was one of the first times Spiegel talked publicly about his grueling decision not to sell Snapchat to Facebook in 2013.
"I am now convinced that the fastest way to figure out if you are doing something truly important to you is to have someone offer you a bunch of money to part with it," Spiegel told the graduates.
Whether you decide to take the money or not, you'll learn a lot about yourself in the process.
"If you sell, you will know immediately that it wasn't the right dream anyways," Spiegel said. "And if you don't sell you're probably onto something. Maybe you have the beginning of something meaningful."
Spiegel says he would have sold his first startup, a college admissions company called Future Freshman, but nobody wanted to buy it.
"Don't feel bad if you sell out. Just don't stop there," Spiegel said.
"Find something you aren't willing to sell."