Your Time Is Limited so Don’t Waste it Living Someone Else’s Life – Steve Jobs
The text from this speech by Steve Jobs was circulated around my MBA class a while ago – it is a lot cooler to see it live – thanks YouTube! Even though I am not in the "Mac cult" – never have been and never will be, I think that he has accomplished great things in his life. He is also a creative and an entrepreneur, which is awesome. I think it is really interesting that he studied broadly rather than taking a prescribed route, and his unusual course selection inspired the typography that originally made the Macs different. He says:
Follow your intuition – truly know what you want to become – everything else is secondary.
According to Peter Drucker, one of the greatest management thinkers of our time, we have more freedom now to become what we want to be now than at any point in history. It is then extra-important for us to have an end-point in mind while we make the thousands of choices that leads each one of us to our destiny. He says:
Your time is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
I think almost everyone can relate to this quote. It resonated particularly clearly with me, since I lose myself in my job, family, relationships and image that I want to portray to the world instead of focusing on what is most important to me. I think that many of us get so caught up in the dramas of everyday life that we forget to focus on what really matters to us… and how we can best contribute to the world. This little convocation address serves as a good reminder.
I read ‘Zen and The Art of Making a Living’ ages ago, and I could honestly say there was a big shiny epiphany, but I neglected to nurture the ideals and dreams that I had. What’s left now is regret for choosing the safe and boring path. And that is that.
I think that a lot of us can feel discouraged when we don’t meet our own expectations. There is a good Thread on Steve Pavlina’s forum about that here: http://www.stevepavlina.com/forums/emotional-mastery/2855-depression-self-improvement.html
For those looking for the text:
http://www.business-garden.com/index.php/2006/10/11/lecon_de_vie_et_entrepreneur_magnifique