Teilhard de Chardin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pie... ) said something along the lines of "meaning/purpose is not given to us, it is the purpose of life to search for purpose"

(very vague rephrase... can't remember/find the exact quote I am thinking of, but I think I captured the sentiment).

The very notion of "purpose" can be seriously messed up if you consider the philosophical answers (like "to live an absurd life" per Camus or "to destroy the human in yourself to become uber-human" per Nietzsche), as opposed to literal-minded answers that accept the framing of the question in its naive form (such as "to serve others" or "give something to the world" or "be president" or "create great art").

The philosophical answers are much better if you are REALLY interested in the question, since they propel you towards a deeper kind of questioning. If you actually just want to shut down the philosopher in your head and "get on and do something with your life", well yeah, it is important to have a purpose. Pick one and go for it.

Just don't complain later if you accomplish the purpose and then go "huh? is that all there is?"