Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, provided excellent ‘tips for success’ and ‘food for thought’ during a commencement address at Stanford University, one of the world’s leading research and teaching institutions.
Job’s told his personal story regarding facing death and the significance of death:
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.
Remembering you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
Job’s then told his riveting true story of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is usually a certain death sentence. Job’s doctors told him to ‘go home and get his affairs in order,’ which is doctor’s code for ‘prepare to die.’
Job’s cancer turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery.
“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.
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 you heart and intuition. Everything else is secondary.”
Like virtually everyone who reads Tips for Success, you are well into finalizing your plans, your specific measurable goals, your specific strategies and tactics for what you want to accomplish in 2011 and beyond. There has never been a better time to learn, remember and apply the excellent success lessons Steve Jobs shared in his commencement address to the graduates of Stanford University.
In preparation for 2011 and beyond, learn, remember and apply these high-impact success lessons from one of the most creative, innovative and successful business leaders of our generation… or of any generation for that matter! You would be hard pressed to identify a more credible and successful business leader than Steve Jobs!
You would do well to invest time and energy reading and studying the three most recent Tips for Success, all featuring success lessons from Steve Jobs.
- Steve Jobs… Drop Out in Order to Drop In
- Steve Jobs… Success Lessons Regarding Love and Loss
- Steve Jobs… Success Lessons regarding The Significance of Death
Now is the time to set the stage for maximum personal and professional success in 2011. Now is the time!! Please let me know if I can assist you in any way.
