What Steve Jobs Knew About Chasing Your Dreams

Hate him or love him, one thing is for certain; Steve Jobs made his mark on this world.

Ten years ago he delivered the commencement address at Stanford University, and this bit of it has captured my attention for a while:

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
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 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.

Death is the only certainty that we have in life. It’s the one guarantee that none of us will miss out on.

So today, I want you to ask yourself this: If I was told that I had 3-6 months to live, would I do anything differently from what I’m doing now?

If you answered yes (and especially if you immediately answered yes), then you really need to ask yourself why that is.

We may not get a nice neat diagnosis like that, where we’re told we have 3-6 months to live. You may carelessly step out into traffic one day and get run over by a bus. We never know when the end is coming.

So if you take Steve’s advice, and you live each day as though it may be your last, I can promise you that you’ll have few regrets once your last day really does come.

You’ll do the things you really want to do, rather than do the things that someone else tells you that you should be doing.

I’m curious to know what it is that you’d rather be doing. Let me know in the comments below, and let’s kick-start our dreams today!

If you want to watch Steve’s commencement address, you can view it on YouTube.