25 October 2011

I keep listening to this



Two weeks ago, NPR: Talk of the Nation broadcast Steve Jobs's 2005 speech at Stanford University as a way to commemorate his life. I have listened to it about five times since then because it is inspiring. If you haven't had a chance to read, listen to, or watch this, you should make some time. 

I want to highlight the parts that stand out to me:
  • Much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.
  • [On typography]: It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating. None of this had even a hope of a practical application in my life, but it all came back to me 10 years later. We designed it into the mac.
  • You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them going backwards. You have to trust that the dots will connect somehow in your future.
  • [On being fired from Apple]: The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything.
  • 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 work as it is for your lovers.
  • The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
  • If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. And don't settle.
  • "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?"
  • 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.
  • Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die.
  • Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking.
  • Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition--they somehow already know what you truly want to become.
  • Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
I don't know if everyone will find what they love. Is it something to be found? Or does this kind of love just develop because you do it everyday or you want to be better at it? Steve Jobs was really lucky to find what he loved to do, but he had to drop out of college in order to find it. I have found things that I enjoy and have a knack for, but I haven't fallen in love with anything yet. I certainly need more experience to improve on the things I'm interested in and then develop a love for them. I guess I like this speech so much because his story encourages me to just keep trying and move forward. The dots will align somehow. It was good to listen to being a recent college grad with no money and no foundation anywhere, really, except my family and my diploma. So Steve, I'm pretty hungry and I'm going to be foolish by trying all sorts of ways to figure out what to do exactly.

1 comment:

Austin said...

Jess, you should totally experiment! I've tried out all kinds of things after graduating, and it's been really really helpful to see what I actually enjoy in practice. I'm not sure I've found it yet either, but each new experience gives a little more clarity. Good luck! :)