Some creative soul coined this phrase in a social forum today, in reaction to Steve Jobs' death. Just perfect. I heard of his death last night, just as I was going to bed and I was so incredibly sad. Such a brilliant and creative mind is forever gone. Born to an unwed mother, put up for adoption, a college dropout.......and yet, a genius.
And not just a genius in the obvious ways. He was a genius in that he "dropped into" his own life (his words). He left the path that others had laid out for him- college-and "followed his own heart, even when it led him off the well-worn path." In 2005, he said these words as a college commencement speaker at Stanford:
"You've got to find what you love. 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.......Keep looking.......Don't settle."
The last topic he addressed had to do with death. At the time of this speech, about six years ago, he had been given a clean bill of health after pancreatic surgery, but because he had had such a close call, he had this to say: "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." Then he went on to say, "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."
So, from someone who gave so much to the world, and who was clearly not finished when he had to reluctantly leave the stage, let's take his words to heart and vow not to have to leave the stage of our own lives, without living our lives as we truly wanted. "Stay hungry; stay foolish."
You've cried at weddings, right? At the birth of a baby? And, of course, you've probably cried at funerals, but have you ever stopped to wonder why both happy and sad events, make you so emotional? Even worse, do you often feel like you're the only one? I will impart wisdom gleaned from professional conferences, seminars, books and articles and/or I will blog my personal thoughts. Either way, I hope you check in often, so you know that your tears are never shed in a vacuum!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
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About Me
- Ms. Baby Boomer-dang
- Dallas, TX, United States
- I am an educator and consultant, in the field of loss and grief. I love educating others, as well as learning from them, about life's little and big, happy and sad losses: marriage, divorce, moving away, losing one's health, aging gracefully.....or not......death of a loved one, a pet, a dream, children growing up and parents having to let go, etc. etc. Hopefully, you get the picture. Let's laugh, cry and learn together!
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very well said. so sad. and yet so inspiring at the same time. thanks.
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