how does delivery the messages give Ed purpose

The meaning that Ed derives from his missions empower his newfound purpose. He has berated himself throughout the book as the “cornerstone of mediocrity” and is dedicating his future to shedding himself of the person he used to be in order to fulfill the promise of “this new person full of purpose rather than incompetence.” Ed has arrived at greater appreciation of himself as a result of living beyond the limitations of what he thought himself capable. Ultimately, the driving theme demonstrated by the events of the novel are explicitly encapsulated as almost the final words of the text: “Maybe everyone can live beyond what they’re capable of.”