Live Like You Were Dying

“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.”
~ Abraham Lincoln

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In 2005 Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc., addressed the graduating class at Stanford University. During his commencement address, Jobs talked about work, life, and death. Yesterday (10/5/11), the world lost Steve Jobs: an inventor, a pioneer, a visionary, and a world changer. Steve Jobs died at the age of 56 after a battle with cancer.

The year prior to his commencement address Jobs was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer. Below is a portion of his address where Jobs speaks to the students 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.

Remembering that I’ll die 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. 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."

Steve Jobs - thank you for following your heart and intuition. You’ve truly changed the world! And, thank you for reminding all of us that our time here is limited, and how important it is to live like you were dying!

Heaven’s Headlines: The Pearly Gates Have Gone Digital – Welcome Steve Jobs!
Rest in Peace – Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

It's Your Life: Live it, Love it, Celebrate it!
MJD