PurpleLine Consulting

I recently came across the video on You Tube of a speech that Steve Jobs of Apple gave at Stanford in 2005. It contains some very powerful messages…. about life, death and getting fired.

Jobs’ first message is about connecting dots. He talks about how he dropped out of college, discovered calligraphy and how this led to the vast array of fonts that we now have on our PCs. Basically, he followed his intuition to do what he felt was right at the time. He had the confidence to follow his heart, even when it appeared to others like a foolish thing to do. You can only connect the dots looking backwards, not forwards, he says, so you need to trust your intuition.

He then goes on to talk about the importance of loving what you do at work. He recognised this, surprisingly, when in 1985 he was fired from Apple – the company he started. Instead of focusing on rejection, he recognised that he loved the work he does and that in being fired he ‘exchanged the heaviness of being successful for the lightness of being a beginner again’. The years that followed were one of the most creative periods of his life, led to the creation of Pixar, which was subsequently taken over by Apple. So his message is that we spend a great deal of our time at work, that we have to find what we love and do great work. ‘If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking – you’ll know when you find it’, he says.

His final message is about living each day as if it is our last. In 2004 Jobs was diagnosed with cancer, and having lived through it, he reminds us that our time is limited and of the importance of following our hearts to become who we want to be. The motto ‘stay hungry, stay foolish’ is the farewell message on the back cover of the last issue of the Whole Earth Catalogue, what he calls ‘a sort of Google in paperback form’ from the mid 1970s. He says this is what he has always wished for himself and offers it to the students of Stanford as a message for the lives ahead of them. A truly inspiring message aimed at those starting out on their careers, yet meaningful for everyone.

And what of us who are further on in our careers? Whilst we may understand this message intellectually, is this a message we have the courage and intuition to follow? And what do we miss out on by not doing so?

Take a look at the video, its message has meaning for all of us. Stay hungry, stay foolish….