On October 5, 2011, Apple co-founder and chairperson Steve Jobs died at the age of 56. Since then, many people are re-visiting the commencement speech Jobs delivered at Stanford University in 2005. Packed with general life lessons, the speech also has valuable tips for finding meaningful work and sustaining a fulfilling career. Here are some of the highlights:
“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.”
“The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”
“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.”
There are many variables in life, known and unknown. For Jobs, one of his “unknowns” was pancreatic cancer. However, he was able to live his days with fulfillment and happiness by deciding what was in his control and following his passions. Let this be a good reminder to each of us to “stay hungry, stay foolish.”
~Ashley
(For a written transcript of Jobs’ speech, click here.)