Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Address

3 Stories 1. Connecting the dots He took a calligraphy class at Reed College. 10 years later it all came back to him and used that knowledge in the Mac. It’s impossible to connect the dots looking forward. You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. If you simply do enough things and show curiosity with the ability to learn, eventually they’ll fit together in some fashion.

To Laugh Often and Much

To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

Dare to be Great

“Imma show you, how great I am. Last night, I cut the light off in my bedroom and was in bed before the room was dark. Imma show you, how great I am. Only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalised a brick. I’m so mean, I make medicine sick. Imma show you, how great I am. This kid’s gonna be the best kid in the world.

David Foster Wallace: This Is Water Commencement Speech

Learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience. The capital-T Truth is about life BEFORE death. It is about the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over: