Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

Three years ago, I watched Steve Jobs' speech at Stanford University's commencement exercise on Youtube. It was a few months after I first gained a deeper knowledge of anything Apple. That speech was probably one of the most inspiring speeches that I have ever heard and for three years now, I may have somehow lived up to four life lessons that he shared.

In his speech, he told three stories in his life. First one is about connecting the dots. For sure, there have been countless times in our lives when we ask why do we do the things that we do? At one point, we get confused. We do things almost randomly. But I quote Steve on this, 

...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. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

Second story that he shared was about love and loss. It's funny how he shared how he was fired from his own company. Ha ha. I didn't even know about this before and I found it rather amusing that this can actually happen. But regardless of how much of a failure he was back then and the public embarrassment that he had, he said he still loved what he did at Apple. That no matter how hard he hit the ground, he still loves what he does.

I think realizing what you love to do is one of the most important treasures that one could ever have in his lifetime. Ako hindi ko pa alam kung ano gusto ko gawin sa buhay. I have a job, but a job is just a job. What we need is a career. Kaya nga siguro may Filipino expression na, "kinarir mo talaga ha?", kasi it's like doing it with passion. Agree? Hehehe. So I am still on the lookout for something that I would love to do. I will let all things take its course and maybe someday I'll find it. :)

Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. 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. 

The third and last story was about death. He joked, if you live each day as if it were your last, someday, you'll most probably be right. He learned to ask himself that...

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.

That is soooooooo true! There is no point in doing something that you don't like to do at all. Life is so short to get stuck at something so useless! I have been in that situation and I'm happy that I got out of it already. When you feel like work, a relationship, or whatever situation you're into is sucking the life out of you, GET OUT! It's going to be liberating, I promise! :D

Those are three life lessons. The fourth one was taken from a publication back in the day and on its final issue, it had a farewell message that says, "Stay hungry, stay foolish". It's true. Great things come from utterly stupid ideas. Who knows di ba? Don't be afraid to take risks and take chances on following your gut. Don't be afraid to learn.

Today, the man behind that inspirational speech at Stanford passed away. I don't know if I just became such an Apple fanboy that I got terribly sad upon hearing the news. Or maybe because I was holding on to these life lessons for a long time and his passing came as a shock (I knew he had been fighting an illness, but it was still so sudden).

I remembered I was six years old when I first used a Macintosh. I didn't know what it was, I was just clicking away trying to do something visually entertaining while staring at the monitor. Fast forward to the 21st century, it's amazing how Mr. Jobs has revolutionized the world in so many ways. As a fan, I sincerely thank him for his genius.

Rest in peace, Steve.