I have just watched a video given by Steve Jobs for the Stanford Commencement Speech of 2005 in the USA.
In his speech for the graduation of students, he tells three stories, in my view a little inappropriate for those who had studied hard to get their qualifications, having had spent hours cramming facts and figures into their heads.
He tells that he had dropped out of college without gaining qualifications, only doing what subjects he wanted to do, those subjects that he had an interest in, yet he become one of the most successful and richest people in the world by applying what he had learned.
He tells how at the age of twenty he had set-up Apple computers, but at the age of thirty he was sacked (Dismissed) from his company, but then went on to set-up and create two more highly successful companies.
He tells how he discovered he had cancer, and was only given months to live, but within a few hours it was found that this cancer was a rare strain and could be treated and removed.
He had followed his dreams, those things that had inspired, motivated him, gave him great interest, those things that he loved to do in business and relationships, to become successful, but he had faced death, as he said, the one certain thing to happen to us all our lives.
From his message it seems he is saying that we should not follow others, that our life is limited, that death is just around the corner.
I think we should follow others, know their strategies, how they do things, become a success, and I believe we should take what is appropriate for us and apply them to our lives, add on to these discoveries, teaching others along the way, not for those or us to become “Little Phillip” or Steve Jobs.
I believe that we should not look at death in the face, it will happen, but we should live our lives as the FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF OUR LIVES, follow our dreams, with a smile on our face and happiness in our hearts.
Carpe Diem, the only Latin I know, enjoy the present day, live for the day.
Great speech, worth watching.