Steve Jobs passed away the other day. It was in the wake of media coverage surrounding his death that we were reminded of the Standford graduation commencement speech he gave in 2005. The three stories he spoke of touched us.
On Connecting the Dots Jobs said,
… you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. 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.
On Love and Loss Jobs said,
I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
and went on to say,
I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that 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 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.
And, on Death,
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.
and finally,
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Jobs wasn’t a techie or a designer – he was just good at being true to himself. He followed his instincts and the world followed him. We’ll miss him.