Embracing Death

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon 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. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

– Steve Jobs, 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech

It’s so easy to read these words, be profoundly moved by them, vow to remember them, and then go right back to being buried under your work and never think about them again. But you should think about them. Every day. Set some time aside, just one or two minutes, every morning. It’s incredibly useful.

One more thought:

So many people go through life just trying to make it through. They do enough work to put food on the table and a roof over their head. They hope their bosses don’t hassle them and their work passes muster.

Then there’s people like Steve Jobs and Richard Branson. These people have a mission. The list of things they want to accomplish is so long that they know they’ll never get to it all. Because of this, they wring every fucking drop out of each day they have. What a way to live.

Click here to read or watch Jobs’ commencement speech.