Wednesday August 17, 2005
“Don\’t be trapped by dogma”
Last spring, Steve Jobs presented the Commencement Address at Stanford University\’s graduation. Steve Jobs – as almost anyone with a computer knows – founded Apple Computers and later designed the Macintosh, the computer that revolutionized the industry. When he got fired from Apple, he founded Pixar, the computer animation firm whose first big hit was Toy Story. Now he\’s back at Apple.
I thought the closing paragraphs of his address (http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html=\”#000000\”>) were worth passing along.
“When I was 17,” Jobs said, “I read a quote something like: \’If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you\’ll most certainly be right.\’
“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked: \’If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?\’ Whenever the answer has been \’No\’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
“External expectations, pride, fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death. Remembering that 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.
“The best invention of Life”
“About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. [The tests] clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. The doctors told me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor\’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you\’d have the next 10 years to tell them. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.
“It turned out to be a rare form of pancreatic cancer curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I\’m fine now.
“This was the closest I\’ve been to facing death, and I hope it\’s the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:
“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 clears out the old to make way for the new.
“Don\’t waste it living someone else\’s life” To receive this column regularly via e-mail, send a request to [email protected]. E-mail subscribers also get excerpts from correspondence about these columns. Please forward a copy of this column to anyone who might be interested in subscribing.
If you want to order my books, you can call 1-800-663-2775 in Canada, 1-800-328-0200 in the U.S., or order them on-line at the Wood Lake Books website.
For a lighter look at ethics, faith, and life, I recommend Ralph Milton\’s weekly e-newsletter Rumors. You can subscribe to it at the Wood Lake Books home page in Ralph Milton\’s Site, or by sending a note directly to [email protected].
It\’s also worth pursuing Richard Fairchild\’s United Online site. Another site worth visiting is David Keating\’s \”SeemslikeGod\” page.
“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 other\’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
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Copyright © 2002 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups permitted; all other rights reserved.
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