Monday, November 4, 2013

{Dots}


"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."
Steve Jobs

Thinking about this as I look forward to what happens after graduation (coming May 2014) and what it means. The words "don't settle" have stuck with me the past couple of days as I've been sitting on this quote, the idea. The world seems so big, and the possibilities literally endless. I feel just like a sailboat.

Yet another thought clashes with the idea of endless possibilities - and that the endless possibilities do not exist. Our strengths, our passions, our histories and everything else adds up to a line of work that we were built for - designed to do in and out every day. And not to say this means the same job day after day, but that we were built for a specific path, not to explore the endless possibilities. Instead, look to where your passions and talents line up, and go for it, that's all. Don't worry about not pursuing this or that if you're not truly made for it.

As I look forward, I try and connect the dots. Except, Jobs has another look at it:

"...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."

Do I trust?

Inspired By:
Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement Speech - June 12, 2005

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. // The Message