If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on that calligraphy class

and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do

Of course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college but it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards

So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future

You have to trust that something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever

Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow

your heart even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference

My second story is about love and loss

I was lucky. I found what I loved to do early in life when I was 20

The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner at it less sure about it

I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did

You've got to find what you love, and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life

And the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work

And the only way to do great work is to love what you do

If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, and don't settle

My third story is 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, and since then, for the past 33 years

I've looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself

If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today

And whenever the answer has been no for too many days in a row, I know I need to change

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

It's life's changing tool. 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 truly become the old and be cleared away

Sorry to be so dramatic, but it's 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