“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. Ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” – Apple Computers’ “Crazy Ones” television commercial, 1997
As a loyal Mac user and admirer of the man who transformed the world of personal computers and our digital lives, I was filled with sadness last night at the news of Steve Jobs’ death that came, fittingly, via my iPhone.
I appreciated Steve Jobs. I admired his creativity, vision, energy and leadership. So I honor him today by linking to a video of his Stanford University 2005 commencement address.
Here are a few highlights of his speech that I posted last year on December 31:
“You have to trust in something: Your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well-worn path. And that will make all the difference.”
“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 and don’t settle. You’ll know when you find it.”
“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.”
Thank you, Steve. You will be missed.
Tags: creativity, human energy, leadership, managing yourself, personal effectiveness, Steve Jobs, success
