Can you imagine your life today without the Mac, ipod, Pixar, iphones? Steve Jobs was an amazing visionary, a man who stuck to his vision, even through adversity.
I have to be honest here. I didn’t know anything about him until this week when many friends posted about him on their facebook pages, especially words from a speech he gave at the graduation ceremony at Stanford in 2005.
So, at the advisement of my seventeen year old son, I looked it up on youtube and made my children listen to it. We sat at the kitchen table together. My son, who is almost ready to venture into the world and make his own path, sat in rapture, a knowing smile on his face. My fifteen year old daughter, however, sighed and asked several times why we were listening to some guy talk. When I told her who he was and what had happened this week, she shrugged. I could tell that nothing he was saying was leaving any lasting insight.
But it touched my heart and by the end, I was almost in tears. What he had to say was so insightful-and deep to the core honest. But that wasn’t the only thing that touched me. Looking around at the college students, my heart just ached. He had so much to say, so much to give and they didn’t seem to be listening, just as my daughter wasn’t listening. They laughed and talked while he was spilling his heart out, telling him of his life, offering them advice from someone who had gone before.
Thankfully, the world has the internet and youtube so that we can listen to it any time we want, as many times as we want.
Since then, I’ve thought about it and have come to two conclusions:
1) Youth really is wasted on the young.
2) Sometimes I think that the only way you can truly listen to and learn from history, is to have lived long enough to have a history of your own.
Steve Jobs went through so much, and still kept going, kept thinking, kept trying new things. He didn’t give up, even when his world came crashing down, first when he was ousted from Apple, a company he helped to create, and then when he was diagnosed with cancer. He is truly inspiration to all of us, young and old, educated or workforce.
I’m closing with words from that speech that we all need to remember and hold close to our hearts, no matter what goal we go after in life, whether it be writing or nursing or engineering.
"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."
– Steve Jobs, Stanford speech 2005
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."
– Steve Jobs, Stanford speech 2005
So I leave you with this. Love what you do. If you don't love what you do any more than find a way to love it again or do something else. Fight to find your passion, what makes you happy and gives you peace with the world. And whatever you do, don't settle.
Great post. You definitely hit the nail on the head - youth is wasted on the young. I have just seen a major change in our daughter. Her hubby lost his job and she jumped right into cutting all their expenses, looked around at what he could do and they are progressing wonderfully into providing a service to help get through the time until a job is available. I was so impressed at how she overlooked the worry of them only having her salary and proceeded to find a way to fix it in a positive way.
ReplyDeleteAs far as me doing something I love - writing is definitely I love. We were devastated nine years ago when our older daughter died from cancer. The way I have gotten through the grief has been to make quilts in her memory and give them away. I fill them with love and, you know what, they are accepted in love as well. So far, I've made and given away 36 quilts. Most of them are baby quilts in bright colors and some are photo quilts that extend those memories. I cannot believe the difference it has made for me. I jump back and forth between writing and quilting. Not a bad way to spend my time. :)
Hi Paisley! Thanks for reading and posting. I've kinda dropped out of the blogging world. It's hard to know what to write sometimes. It sounds as though you and your hubby have raised one remarkable daughter. You should both be proud. So many marriages struggle over money, but she handled it like a trooper. Probably just as her mom and dad modeled for her.
ReplyDeleteYour quilts sound amazing. My mom quilts some too. I think it's kind of like an art thing for her. She's an artist-stopped when she had kids and now thinks she's no longer good at it and too old to start back up. She's made several beautiful lap quilts and some designed for wheelchairs for the elderly.
It truly is important to find what you love, even if it isn't something you do for money. Just having a spot in your life where you get to do what fills all the holes is important. I've told my kids from the time they were young that they need to find their passions and go from there. Life is just too short to do something you don't love. And the world is open to all possibilities, you just have to chase them.
Thanks again for stopping by and leaving a comment-makes me feel less alone in the world. Take care!!
~me
Nice post, Michelle. It is ashamed that the youth of the world have it all figured out and don't need to listen to those that have come before them.If I had known(and sometimes still need reminders) then that all those "well meaning" people out there actually had great advice to give, I might have been in a different place now. I do love the quote it is a good reminder to keep going even in adversity. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYou really should write something more often I do enjoy reading your posts when I get the chance. :)