” 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 drawn 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.”

-Steve Jobs, Stanford 2005

This is a speech that I will often reflect on- only because it is so easy to listen to the noise of others, and to waste your life. Having the courage to follow your heart and intuition can be scary– but is it comforting to know that we already know what we truly want to become. The discipline, determination and focus are required to follow the path to your destiny.

Today I read the TIME articles dedicated to Mr. Jobs. A brilliant and inspiring man- I found this segment most interesting. Jobs asked Isaacson to write his biography. The last time Isaacson saw Jobs he said: [Jobs] had moved to a downstairs bedroom because he was too weak to go up and down stairs. He was curled up in some pain, but his mind was still sharp and his humor vibrant. We talked about his childhood, and he gave me some pictures of his father and family to use in my biography. As a writer, I was used to being detached, but I was hit by a wave of sadness as I tried to say goodbye. In order to mask my emotion, I asked the one question that was still puzzling me: Why had he been so eater, during close to 50 interviews and conversations over the course of two years, to open up so much for a book when he was usually so private? “I wanted my kids to know me,” he said. “I wasn’t always there for them, and I wanted them to know why and to understand what I did.”

It’s interesting to see that one cannot have it all. It is either worldly success, or family success– to excel in one, the other must suffer a little. We only have so much energy and time in our life, in each day. Some are clear on what is important to them. Some are in self discovery. I think the part of finding your path, trying different avenues, learning your strengths and working on your weaknesses are a beautiful purpose.