What are some BBEG goals other than taking over the world

I've come up with a villain who can collect people's knowledge, powers and skills by desecrating souls from their dead bodies (feel free to steal) but I genuinely cannot come up with a good reason for him to hoard all this power other than taking over the world or some other generic goal that has been done a million times. Am I trying too hard to be original or is there some other obvious motive I could use for this guy?

Edit: My sincerest thanks to all that replied. Thanks to you I now understand this character even better.