“Sometimes life hits you on the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith!” – Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios
In 2005 Steve Jobs founder of Apple Computer gave the commencement address to new graduates of Stanford University. It is a brilliant address where he focuses on three inspirational short stories from his life:
The first story is about joining the dots – which addresses in a very interesting way the question why did he drop out of college?
The second story is about love and loss, a story which will inspire anyone who has faced adversity particularly in their career as Steve talks about being fired from the very company that he founded namely Apple computers.
The third story is about death where Steve talks about being diagnosed with cancer and his attitude to life. It’s brilliant!
The video is just over 15 minutes and well worth watching in full and indeed taking notes. Here’s some inspirational quotes from the address which I felt were excellent:
I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love and that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you havent found it yet keep looking. Don’t settle! As with all matters of the heart you’ll know when you find it. And like any great relationship if just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking. Don’t settle…
If today was the last day of my life would I want to do what I am about to do today. Whenever the answer has been no for too many days in a row, I know I have to change something…
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart…
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
Stay hungry! Stay foolish!
To read the whole speech you can go to this link – Text of Steve Jobs commencement speech at Stanford University 2005
Or watch the video below.
Be Inspired!
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