Some Wisdom From The Late Steve Jobs.
By vishwa on Inspiration
October 10, 2011
Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, recently passed away. He was suffering from some rare form of pancreatic cancer. A creative entrepreneur who revolutionized six industries: Personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing and digital publishing.
When I read about his death in the newspaper it perplexed me, for many even the President of USA, Barack Obama, mourned his death. I was keen to read about this man, for I wanted to know what was all the buzz about, and what made him to stand out from others? Fortunately, I found an article penned by him in today’s newspaper. I was truly inspired by his thoughts, the ferocious drive, and his passion for perfection. I would like to present excerpts from that article, as I hope that you too would find it invigorating.
“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.”
“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: ‘If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.’ It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”
“Remembering that I will 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 experiences, 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 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.”
This also reminds me of what Mel Gibson says in the movie, Brave Heart. He says, “All men have to die. Few men actually live.” It is indeed a profound statement. I believe it is now time for us to ask, “Have we lived?” “Are we living?”