Monday, June 9, 2008

Steve Jobs' Commencement Speech

A few years ago, Steve Jobs, the current CEO of Apple, gave an inspiring commencement speech at Stanford University. He had three personal stories to share, with three simple lessons:
1) Your life is a random assortment of events that you can't (completely) control. Even though you may have no idea how these 'dots' will connect, you just have to believe that they will, somehow. "You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."
2) Do what you love. "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 haven't 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, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle."
3) Be in control of your own life. "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."

Thanks for the advice, Mr. Jobs.
Read the full transcript of his speech on Stanford's website.

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