Inspiration can come from many sources. From the lectures / speeches on Ted.com, there are many well known leaders and speakers to listen to and find inspiration from. One of the most touching accounts was from Steve Jobs, founder of Apple. He gave a commencement speech to Stanford University in 2005 and it was truly heart warming and inspiring.
Not knowing much about the personal history of Steve Jobs, it was surprising to find out that he was adopted at birth. His birth mother wanted him to go to a family of college graduates, to insure his future success by attending college. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Only after being promised that the child would attend college, did she finally agree to let the prospective parents adopt her baby. The original adoptive parents, college graduates, turned down the baby and her son was adopted by a couple with no college background.
He calls it “connecting the dots”. How his history has come together to create the life he was living. Part of the connection started with his parents sending him to college. He dropped out after thinking it wasn’t doing him any good, and it was spending all of his parent’s hard earned money. Dropping out lent him a freedom that he didn’t have as a full time student. He was free to pick classes that interested him. One of the classes was Calligraphy. Later on, when designing the Mac, he incorporated what he had learned about fonts into the Mac design. He says that connecting the dots can only be done looking backwards and not towards the future.
One of the most inspiring things he said about this segment of his life was that he trusted it all to work out okay. He felt he could follow his inner voice and intuition to make his way. At the end of his speech, he encourages the graduates to follow their hearts. He says to not let anyone’s opinions drown out the voice inside of you. I found this to be particularly insightful. On the same note, Rick Warren, author of a “Purpose Driven Life”, also said that a person needs to sit down and figure out what he or she is all about. Knowing yourself and your values is important and needs to be thought about. He says that most people go through life without really addressing this and that is not truly living. Both men are inspirational and have lead lives that most of us dream about living. I think it’s very valuable to know yourself and to recognize all of your dreams and values. This is what makes you – you!
Steve Jobs most valuable advice was to love what you do! He said that life can hit you in the head with a brick, but to not lose faith. He said if you love what you do, then it will get better and better, like all long term relationships. He encouraged people to have the courage to follow their hearts and intuition.
This speech means so much to me. I’ve been doused in self doubt and consternation for a while now, and having the influence of a mighty man say that he’d been hit in the head with a brick, when he was fired from Apple, brought a new light to my life. Knowing that he overcame what felt like a great failure, to move on to new heights and success, is so encouraging. He definitely built trust with his listeners by being so open, honest and humble about his life and his accomplishments. This openness is what the world needs to be inspired. When someone says, “You can do it”, but has no idea of whom you are or what you are capable of, is not of the same caliber of how, “This is what I faced as a challenge and overcame it. I know you can, too!”.
Summing up, what Steve said at the end of his speech was a nugget to take along on the journey of life: “Don’t waste your time living other people’s lives. Know what you truly want to become, everything else is secondary and have the courage to follow your heart and intuition”. This advice is so freeing and gives my heart hope of a better future – one where dreams do come true.
