Steve Jobs, Founder of Apple and arguably one of the greatest visionary of our time gave a now famous Commencement Speech to the Stanford 2005 Graduating year.
This speak contained several pieces of great advice and his words can definitely be considered Words to Live By.
My favourite quotes from this speech include:
“…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.”
“Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith….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.”
“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 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.”
“…Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.”
And finally Steve’s words that are most memorable of all…
“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.”
See the full speech in the video below.
