Without religion, how do you form a sense of meaning? What is purpose? It's interesting to think about what threatens secular-minded people's sense of meaning.

For example, the idea that the Universe is going to implode in 4 billion years gives some sci-fi minded people a sense of despair. If everything's going to disappear, then what's the point?

To me, it doesn't matter if everything's gone. If you've made a point, that event of you making that point still exists. I like what Maximus says in Gladiator, "What you do in life echoes through eternity."

I think what I'm saying is similar to Hume's On Love of Fame essay. Or rather, I think my philosophy is more of a signal-vs-noise idea. The goal is to be signal among all the cliches and noise around you. To really make a point, to really stand out. The goal isn't to stand out for the sake of standing out (because that's also cliche), but rather to do something remarkable.