In his commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005, Steve Jobs said “You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backward.” He added “So you have to trust the dots will somehow connect in your future.” Steve Jobs believes that every action we do or every moment we have today happens for a reason and therefore it may have implications for our future. To give an example, Steve Jobs shared his experience when he dropped out of college and decided to learn calligraphy. This decision turned out to be valuable later when he decided to install wonderful Sans Serif font during the development of personal computer at Apple. Another example is when Steve Jobs was fired by Apple’s board of directors. That failure motivated him to re-start his life and has contributed to his success in the future. Should he had not fired by Apple, we would not have seen him as one of the most successful people in the IT industry.
I tried to connect the dots in my life after watching Jobs’ speech, and I tend to agree with his view about life. Jobs’ idea about connecting the dots motivates me to connect the dots in my past. After completing my master degree in 2010, I decided to come back home to Indonesia because Tilburg University rejected my application to PhD program. At first I thought that my academic life was over and I do not have chance to advance my education. However, I met Prof. Peter Hwang one year later and the trajectory of my life has been changing ever since. From him, I learned what academic life is all about and what one needs to do to be successful academia. More importantly, I had the opportunity to collaborate with him on a research project, which then helps me to get into PhD program here in the United States. Now I am a first year PhD student, with a publication in my hand and plan in my head about what I want to do after the completion of my degree. If I had not rejected by Tilburg University, I would not have met Prof. Peter Hwang. Even worse, I probably would end up clueless about my life.
Looking backward makes me realize that there is always a reason for something happening in life, either good or bad. For this reason, I do believe that Jobs’ view is very valuable. Without a doubt, all of us must fail at least once in our life. However, that failure often opens new doors that can lead us to bigger achievements. What if failure does not open the new door that we expect? In that case, Steve Jobs’ experience taught us not to worry, because that failure may become the driving force to re-think about our life and what we want to do.
I believe it will be much easier to live our lives with this mindset. We must realize that no one can avoid failure and therefore we sometimes just need to accept the failure in our lives and have a faith that this failure will be valuable someday and then move on. Through Steve Jobs’ life, we learn that the difference between a successful person and a mediocre person is the faith, the mindset that whatever happens today must happen for a reason in the future.
I tried to connect the dots in my life after watching Jobs’ speech, and I tend to agree with his view about life. Jobs’ idea about connecting the dots motivates me to connect the dots in my past. After completing my master degree in 2010, I decided to come back home to Indonesia because Tilburg University rejected my application to PhD program. At first I thought that my academic life was over and I do not have chance to advance my education. However, I met Prof. Peter Hwang one year later and the trajectory of my life has been changing ever since. From him, I learned what academic life is all about and what one needs to do to be successful academia. More importantly, I had the opportunity to collaborate with him on a research project, which then helps me to get into PhD program here in the United States. Now I am a first year PhD student, with a publication in my hand and plan in my head about what I want to do after the completion of my degree. If I had not rejected by Tilburg University, I would not have met Prof. Peter Hwang. Even worse, I probably would end up clueless about my life.
Looking backward makes me realize that there is always a reason for something happening in life, either good or bad. For this reason, I do believe that Jobs’ view is very valuable. Without a doubt, all of us must fail at least once in our life. However, that failure often opens new doors that can lead us to bigger achievements. What if failure does not open the new door that we expect? In that case, Steve Jobs’ experience taught us not to worry, because that failure may become the driving force to re-think about our life and what we want to do.
I believe it will be much easier to live our lives with this mindset. We must realize that no one can avoid failure and therefore we sometimes just need to accept the failure in our lives and have a faith that this failure will be valuable someday and then move on. Through Steve Jobs’ life, we learn that the difference between a successful person and a mediocre person is the faith, the mindset that whatever happens today must happen for a reason in the future.
