some thoughts on life - connecting the dots

Jobs divided his speech in three parts.

In the first one he's teaching us that we shouldn't be scared to do whatever it is that we're thinking of, that we want to do.

There exist no bad decisions. As you could see through the examples of Jobs' life, awful things sometimes are the best ones because they bring other great things on the way. They are for the best. In the future, as you connect the dots you see that it was all meant to be.

I believe nothing happens just by chance - obviously this is not exactly what we're talking about over here, although it's got a lot to do with it, so I'll leave it for some other time.

Jobs could have had the brilliant kind of life conserving people think about. Excellently graduated from a well known college institution, have a great job and earn some good money – which he already does. But would that be thrilling? Would that actually bring happiness? As Jobs said himself, he had absolutely no idea of what to do with his life anyway, so why to keep trying to do something even though that is not what he wants?

If you don't see any value on what you're doing, stop it. Life is short - he also says that at some point - and you should make the most of it, by doing what is really valuable to you. Go try to find what really moves you and you'll be pretty successful at it.

You can’t not be assertive and happy when you're doing what you like and that makes your heart full.

If Jobs had never dropped out from college and in on what he really felt like doing, maybe he wouldn't have gotten as far as he did.

Sometimes the moves we want to take seem to be crazy, unreasonable. But we should not be scared of it. In uncountable situations, unreason is better than reason.

It's about the confidence to roll the dice.

When we are doing things it might be impossible to connect the dots and guess where that will lead us but some time after, as we look backwards, things get clearer and clearer. As Jobs said:

"You can't connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that somehow the dots will connect to your future. You have to trust in something, your God, destiny, life, Karma, whatever, because believing the dots will connect down on the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the road one path and, that will make all the difference".

You see, it's all about living your life really vividly. Doesn't matter if it's when you're about to make a decision or whatever else. You have to make of your life, something. I apologize for the metaphor, but it's about living, not about surviving.

I read something great concerning these same thoughts on life. A book by Paul Arden - an old creative director you might as well know who unfortunately left us in the beginning of this year. His book was Whatever you think, think the opposite.

Through his brilliant words he showed the benefits of making "bad decisions" and defended that security in life is very very risky. In his words:

"It's the wrong way to think, but the right way to win".

In the book he presents a very interesting chart comparing the work life of an average corporate person with that of a maverick. He compares Eddie (the corporate man) with whom he calls reckless Erica. And their journey is very simple.

Eddie is the non-risk taker who rises fast as pleases everyone in the company, but as years go by someone younger comes and takes his place earning half of the salary he's got. And he is finished yet he has done nothing wrong.

And that is exactly the problem, he has done nothing wrong. Nothing different. He's just another "follower", not a creator.

Now reckless Erica is different. She's not the corporate type. All the time she has new ideas for things. Most of them "wrong", impractical and way adventurous. Some of her ideas even get her fired. But some are brilliant and that's where she makes the difference. And as the time goes by she starts to get noticed - differently from Eddie - she's become respected for just a few things she's done.

She's not reasonable, and that is why she doesn't do just well, she goes way beyond.

I guess the point of what I want to say is very simple.
Just change your life.
"The world is what you think of it".
You can make its course.