If I were in the above picture, I would be the fellow in green, looking down, not quite in synch with the others. I would be thinking, “Is this how I want to spend my life…tagging behind others, expected to walk in lock-step? The answer, of course, would be no!
That’s no doubt why Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish, Steve Jobs’ 2005 graduation address at Stanford, resonated so strongly in me. I saved the newspaper article that printed it, but I needn’t have bothered. It touched so many other hearts it’s readily available on the web, not just the text, but also the video version.
Steve’s message is: our time on earth is limited, “so don’t waste it living someone else’s life…have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
He’s not promising life will always be easy. “Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.” if you love what you do, you can handle it.
“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.”
What do you think? How does Steve’s advice apply to your life?
Japanese photo by jfchenier at Flickr. Creative Commons license.Steve Jobs photo by Jacob Botter at Flickr. Creative Commons license.
Notice there’s a new page, Personal Development List, listed in the blog menu in the right sidebar, right after the site search. It includes a recent copy of Priscilla Palmer’s compilation. Thanks, Priscilla!
15 comments ↓
That is great advice, no matter how you look at it. If one doesn’t love one’s work, what does it matter how much is being paid?
I agree, great advice… but something that is too often forgotten.
Notice that the greatest, most successful and most popular people in the world are that way because they followed their dreams and do what they love.
Matthew
http://www.InspirationToAchieve.com
Hi Jean,
This was exactly the point of my most recent article (that you left a comment on). Love the site – you have a new subscriber.
Peter
Hello Jean,
Here’s my post: Crisis of Confidence which also addresses your “creative discontent” Have a good one! Judy
Chaos+Creative Friction=Career Shift?
http://www.worklifemonitor.com/the_chaos_monitor/2007/09/creative-fricti.html
Hi Jean,
thank you for this post; it really is an incredibly beautiful, strong and inspiring speech
(and thank you for leaving a comment on my own post about it)!
Ellen
Hello Jean:
The Steve Jobs video is powerful. He uses storytelling to effectively put his message across. What I also pick from this story is that academic achievement is not an end in itself.
[...] posts: Do What You Love, Live Your Own Life, Loving What You Do. This blog posts weekly, on [...]
[...] Live Your Own Life [...]
Great post Jean.
This is one great advice I learn early in life and it has helped me a lot.
Thanks for reminding me once again. You have a new subscriber.
I am also doing a Group Writing Project on Creative Dreaming and I want you to be part of my team. Visit the link below for more information:
http://www.the-lessons-of-life.com/Motivational-Blog/2007/10/22/creative-dreaming-group-writing-project/
Waiting to have you on my team.
Adebola
[...] Live Your Own Life [...]
I was taking ballet, tap & piano. Mother said “Too much. Don’t you want to do just one, like PIANO?”. She loved music. So I took piano 1st grade through high school. Majored in organ because I knew I didn’t really like piano. Mother said in her diary, I read recently,” I hope my children learn languages.” She studied Spanish. I minored in French, tho’ I wasn’t good at it. I gave up Dance in 3rd grade tho’ that’s what I love. Am now in several once-a-week Dance groups.
bikehikebabe,
That’s the great thing about being grown up, we get to decide what we do with our leisure time. I was just the opposite, I wanted to learn the piano, but my sister wanted to take tap dancing, so we had dancing classes. I learned the piano as an adult.
[...] Live Your Own Life [...]
[...] posts: Live Your Own Life, It’s a Magical [...]
[...] can’t visualize the end result and you can’t measure your progress. But I’m with Steve Jobs and Jim Buckmaster…you might have to do a bit of searching, but don’t settle for [...]
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