Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. 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 wrote Steve Jobs.
I first heard this words from Steve Jobs a few years back at a time when I was going through a bad patch. These words were from the famous speech he gave at Stanford University in 2005. His words made me sit back and look at my life with different eyes. Project why was five years old and despite minor hiccups was doing great. That was also the year we got public recognition for our work. I pondered a long time on the thoughts proffered and realised that they in more ways than one chronicled my journey. For many years people had chided me on not settling, as I moved from one pasture to another. I had shunned a career in the government, dabbled with a radio job, taught in a university, worked an an interpretor, run my own conference business and yet never settled. It is only when I decided to do something for the elusive other that I sank roots. I finally settled and each year got better and better in spite of small impediments.
Jobs’s personal story recounted in the same speech was also an eye opener as it proved beyond doubt that nothing was impossible. And somehow the maxim that we followed was the quite similar. It did not matter if you were born poor or if you could not access the best education the sky could be the limit if you wanted it to be. That is what we believe in too.
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 added Jobs.
In this one speech Steve Jobs has given us a great Art of Living. He leads by example. We all feel the loss of this endearing human being. May he rest in peace.
