Other than Bill Gates, Steve Jobs (incidentally, they were partners when they were still carving a name for themselves in the Silicon Valley) is one of the CEOs and successful entrepreneurs I admired the most. When he was diagnosed with a rare pancreatic cancer, instead of retiring at the comfort of his amass wealth, he decided to stay at the helm of Apple and Pixar.But like any other human beings, and in spite of the latest medical technology, he had to slow down and take that needed rest. And mind you, when he announced early this year about his leave of absence due to health reasons, Apple’s stock dipped by 6%. Last week, for the first time since 1997, Steve Jobs was not present on Apple’s shareholders' meeting. One of the pressing agenda is whether he will still be Apple’s captain.
I’m sorry if I digressed there a bit.
Steve Jobs on Resiliency in Joblessness and Loving What You Do
Many are still losing their jobs. Many businesses are losing their steam, and some have already close shop. I wonder how Steve Jobs would think and react if he was among those? Unfortunately, he was on the same predicament many years back:
“I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. 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.”
Steve Jobs on Living a Purposeful Life
“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.”
Steve Jobs’ Challenge to Stanford’s 2005 Graduates: Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish!
Read the full text of Steve Jobs' speech here.
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About the Author
Nor Franco is the Managing Director and Virtual CEO of nextManager.net. He's a former corporate executive whose passion is bringing out the full potential of HR in Businesses. This time that passion is pursued through Virtual Management. He writes and blogs about his management views and insights here. Follow him on Twitter.
