That’s how Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, one of the most notorious figures in the tech industry today, concluded his commencement address at Stanford University on June 12, 2005.

The speech is one of those life-changing kinds, and although it has been around for a while now, I read it just recently. You should visit this page and read it too if you haven’t already done so.

In the following lines, I’ll try to explain you my point of view on Steve’s success, based on a quote from his speech.

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.

How could he love that? You may think that any sane normal being would hate to live such a life, and Jobs says he loved that?

Yes, he loved it. And I believe he really means that. Not only because at the present he has a gigantic fortune and remembering those times may be romantic for him, but because he saw things in perspective at that time and he believed that it was just a stage, part of the learning process of life. And who doesn’t love learning?

Sleeping on the floor and struggling to buy food may not sound too romantic for you and me, but they are valuable experiences. If you look at the small picture, there’s nothing to be loved, nothing valuable to be learned. But Jobs didn’t look at the small picture. He believed that this stage was just a dot waiting to be connected with other dots, from both from his past as from the 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.

And because he saw things in perspective, connected the dots and trusted his life, he got “lucky” and founded Apple, which today is one of the biggest companies worldwide.

Of course he faced many difficulties as the time passed, but the main reason why he managed to overcome them and get so successful is because he has managed to keep his “hunger” and “foolishness” alive, along with his love and trust.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

“O Mrs. Bell, how can you learn anything from us? you are such a very, very old lady, and we are only very, very silly little children!” Then she smiled and said: “Ah! Miss Bessie, I can learn something from every-thing I see, and so may you if you will try.” – Bessie, The Little Girl Who Learned from Everything, unidentified author

You’re probably familiar with the concept that there’s something to be learned from everything (action, thought, image, gesture, etc), so I won’t go into too much details about that. In fact, I don’t even think that there are too many details regarding it.

Last night, after my DSL connection went back online after a downtime of 18 hours because of a big thunderstorm in my area, I was surfing the net without a clear destination, just to relax and pass some time. And in this random surfing, I stumbled upon Sophie’s blog (we we wet wet), and in one of her posts I noticed a short film that got my attention.

The film, “Ely & Nepomuk”, is directed and produced by Rafael Sommerhalder, a Swedish director. It is a 10 minutes animation film that features the beautiful life that a young boy (Ely) and his cat (Nepomuk) enjoy. They live a very happy life, until three men from the exterior interfere by offering their grownup advices… and manage to turn the beautiful life of Ely and Nepomuk into ashes.

Ely and his cat Nepomuk are happy. They catch raindrops with their mouths, chase butterflies while walking on their hands, and fall in love with flowers. One day three grey men appear.

The film is characterized by subtle humor, graphic finesse, dignified poetry and masterful animation. The aim of the film is beyond entertaining an audience, it is more about provoking thought. An inherent quality of animation is its ability to transcend language and cultural barriers by means of visual communication (which is the most powerful learning medium).

This short film explains in 10 minutes what some people try to explain by writing hundreds of pages, and that’s the fact that you should live your life according to your own values and beliefs, and that the small joys of life are the ones that really count. It sends out the message that a thinking that is too mature in itself, a thinking that is “unforgiving” with the small joys and treats them with too much maturity ends up doing no good.

Always do what’s good for you and never allow others to change that.

But enough talking, I’m gonna let you watch the movie now. Enjoy! And don’t forget to leave your opinion about it in the comments.

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.” – Albert Einstein

I’ve always agreed to that. And because of that, I’m gonna test your intelligence with a very simple problem.

Below is a quote that I’ve used in a previous post, and what you have to do now is to count how many F’s (both uppercase and lowercase) are in it. Simple enough? I think so. Here it is:

Kant… accepted the notion of things-in-themselves existing independently of any knowledge… As his starting point [he took it] that any specific knowledge we claim to have of such and such an external object is obtained through our senses, [and] hence is at best only indirect and questionable… What we know directly and with certainty is therefore only the set of our ideas. [For example,] the very notion of causality [is] a priori mode of human understanding, in other words, an idea. – d’Espagnat

Finished counting? How many F’s (both uppercase and lowercase) are in that text? Tell us in the comments. I’ll tell you your results there.

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Note: Please don’t use the search feature of your browser to count the F’s.

I’ve always had a thing for great quotes. I find all the synthesized knowledge they contain to be thought provoking and inspiring, useful both in my work and life.

I won’t waste your energy with a long introduction, so here you go, a wisdom-filled collection of quotes that in my opinion contain more knowledge than almost any modern day book.

The past only exists insofar as it is present in the records of today. And what those records are is determined by what questions we ask. There is no other history than that. – Wheeler

The reality of things consists in their persistent forcing themselves upon our recognition. If a thing has no such persistence, it is a mere dream. Reality, then, is persistence, is regularity. - Peirce

Kant… accepted the notion of things-in-themselves existing independently of any knowledge… As his starting point [he took it] that any specific knowledge we claim to have of such and such an external object is obtained through our senses, [and] hence is at best only indirect and questionable… What we know directly and with certainty is therefore only the set of our ideas. [For example,] the very notion of causality [is] a priori mode of human understanding, in other words, an idea. - d’Espagnat

You have to understand, my dears, that the shortest distance between truth and a human being is a story. – Anthony de Mello

 All thought must, directly or indirectly, by way of certain characters, relate ultimately to intuitions, and therefore, with us, to sensibility, because in no other way can an object be given to us. – Immanuel Kant

I had therefore to remove knowledge, in order to make room for belief. – Immanuel Kant

I would rather believe in God, die, and find out there isn’t one; than to not believe in God, die, and find out there is one. – Anonymus

Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought. – Henri Louis Bergson

Life has the name of life, but in reality it is death. – Heraclitus, Eustathius ad Iliad

Alice came to a fork in the road. “Which road do I take?” she asked.
“Where do you want to go?” responded the Cheshire cat.
“I don’t know,” Alice answered.
“Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.” – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought. - Matsuo Basho

Many of you probably are probably dreaming to become famous, to find a place in history, to be remembered by many in the future. It’s a nice dream to have. Motivating I would say.

But how to get it done? Win a Nobel, become Miss America, maybe win an Oscar?… Not really good options. Although these may seem like the right choices, you couldn’t be further away from the truth. The real solution is way more simple and may even look unrealistic, but believe me, simple is always better.

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz (cartoonist, creator of the “Peanuts”). You don’t have to actually answer the questions, just read straight through and you’ll get the point. Please don’t use Google to find the answers because this isn’t an intelligence test.

Quiz 1

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winner for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.

How did you do? Not too good, right? You have to admit that it was a quite hard quiz. But don’t worry, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. Don’t get me wrong, those people are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the reason you didn’t recall too many (if any) of them is because the applause dies, awards tarnish, achievements are forgotten, accolades and certificates are buried with their owners. It’s natural.

Now let’s see how you manage another quiz.

Quiz 2

1. Think of a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

How did you do on this one? I’m sure that you did much better than with the previous! And even if you didn’t recall all the names, I’m certain that you remembered all the persons. And you were pretty excited while digging through memories!

The point

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care, the ones that leave a warm imprint in your life.

Awards and fame are securing you a place in books, while caring for others will get you a place inside of peoples hearts.

Books are cold, lifeless, while hearts are warm and welcoming… where do you want your memory to be kept?