While looking for inspiration....

Below is the speech that Steve Jobs gave to stanford graduates back in 2007. I first came across it while searching for inspiration to write my speech that was to be given my then hopeful employers (Rolls Royce) for a summer internship spot but sadly I didnt make it. However what I learned from his speech and from the experience as a whole has stayed with me till this day.

Hence I would like to share his speech with you readers, and hopefully you can find something meaningful from it too.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

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.

My third story is about death.

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.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised 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 in just a few months. 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.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is 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 its 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 is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

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.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Steve Jobs

Always hungry and foolish,
Yuen

Gentleman Quality Development Program

As promised from my previous article, there are times that guys just act like blatant retards that I can no longer understand what are the things that come across their minds. Hence I would like to share with you what I've learned so far regarding this GQDP.

All of you have it. There are nothing more to learn in gaining the quality values of being a gentleman other than getting rid of the two traits that are obstructing you from revealing the qualities - self-centeredness and chauvinism. The driving force towards possessing or practicing the aforementioned traits is being a smart Alec.

You think that by suppressing others' opinions can reveal your admirable intelligence level and gain the attention you have always lust for. Think again.

You think that you're the one and only ingenious son of a cow who knows everything about the world. Think again.

You think that by not following your command it would be an insult to you and hence jeopardizing your little plan of Einstein. Think again.

You think that whatever that comes first into your feeble mind makes it an absolute answer towards your question. You better think again.

You think that by doing things that feel right temporarily will enlighten your path of future in all aspects. You better triple your thoughts once again.

If you realize that you've done one of the things mentioned in the list above, well my friend, you still have hope in turning into a new leaf as you're not the worst. If you have done all, in fact, more than what I've mentioned, you're still not the worst. The hopeless ones are those who don't even know that they are being Alec's after reading this article! To those self-proclaimed geniuses, go knock yourself out and join the goats in grass devouring competition. To those who wanna be a true gentleman for the good of mankind, give more, take less, and expect none in return.

Vengeful Spirit

It's not the hero in DotA, boys. Read the following the news retrieved from The Stars and you'll know what I am referring to.

"A COMPANY executive has sought the help of the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department after her former boyfriend from Hong Kong posted nude pictures of her on the Internet.

Sin Chew Daily reported that 25-year-old Chen said the man used her e-mail account to send out the pictures to her friends, colleagues and family members.

The couple met in 2004 while both were studying in Australia. Chen decided to call off their relationship in September last year. She is working in Malaysia, and he in the financial sector in Shanghai, China.

The man had made numerous calls to Chen to reconcile, but to no avail. Unable to accept the decision, he sent out the pictures as an apparent act of revenge..."

Of course, this is not really the first time such case has been occurring. In fact, it is increasingly common in our impure society. But because it is so common nowadays, it has induced fear upon me that people will no longer pay attention to such incidents! Thus these victims will no longer have the privilege of attention anymore!... hang on, maybe that's a good thing. Nevermind. On top of that, these men would think that such incidents are so typical that they can apply this dreadful technique of vengeance upon anyone, particularly to female acquaintances, whenever they see fit and think that 'it is part of the breaking up progress'. I bet some of their friends would even support him in doing so! This is at least what I'd foreseen so far in the near future - Majority just do things with emotion as their fundamental basis in decision making!

Alright, let's assume that the guy is doing it not because of the girl dumping him. It is because the girl did not have the sexual attention that she demanded e.g. not huge enough for her or so,and hence dumping him. THAT my friend, I THINK I understand how he would feel (I have decent dongs, don't think aside). But what are the reasons for him doing so?! Because he had tried very hard to reconcile the relationship and it didnt work? I didn't do well in my Aeronautical subject despite my hard work and high intelligence level, alright maybe it's just of mediocre level. Whom am I to blame? The lecturer? Maybe it is because of that she's just so darn gorgeous that he didn't wanna let other guys to have her? But that just makes him a dictator and there are more reasons to why the girl should leave him asap. Or maybe it is simply because she's just pure mean for not trying to reconcile with him? If it is so, dude, why bother talking about it with her?! Just leave already.

There are no doubt many other culprits behind his 'interesting' reaction towards his breakup. But base on the three examples that I'd stated above, we can conclude that this particular HK guy (only applicable on that guy, no offense to other HK guys) is purely of a foolish self-centred low-life with no respect and consideration for others. Let's abbreviate that - bastard. An alternative abbreviation - f**ker. And the ultimatum - he deserves to be dumped!

Alright, so some of you might think that 'why on earth did the girl had permitted him to take her nude pictures in the first place...'. Let me answer that for you. It is about trust. Foolish or not, it is of another issue. Whenever you're in a relationship, there will always the mutual trust that kicks in and it is that that bonds the both parties together. This of course requires the cooperation from both parties. If you've been into a relationship before, especially your first one, you would understand what I'm talking about. Otherwise, don't even try to challenge me in handling relationship problems.

All in all, there's still no solid reason to why he should post up picture on the net USING HER EMAIL ACCOUNT SENDING IT TO HER RELATIVES AND FRIENDS! Sigh, his existence, and to many of you guys who would have actually even THINK of doing such thing, are dispensable. These people need to attend GQDP - Gentlemen Quality Development Program, a program which I'll briefly mention in my next update.

Whatever that we are doing now, we do it for the benefit of our future. My readers, please think about it.

Adapted from http://guezt.diaryland.com/080709.html

5 Rules

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

On another note, I came 3rd at the 70.3 collegiate championships in Lawrence, Kansas and am looking forward to another 70.3 at vineman next weekend!

=)

Take care,
Yuen