Watching and reading all the tributes to Steve Jobs, I found that nothing moved me more than his own words. From his 2005 Stanford Commencement Address.
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because 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. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
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.
Steve Jobs was an inspiration to me and my generation, showing that it’s possible to start from humble beginnings and achieve greatness. Steve showed us that technology should be beautiful, functional, and easy to use. And because of this, Apple products have permeated and changed my life. But, in death he reminds us that life is short and that we should not waste it by not doing something we love.
If you have not watched Steve Jobs’s Stanford Commencement Address, I highly recommend it.
