Posted

The world was recently rocked by news of Steve Jobs’ untimely death at the relatively young age of 56. Apple’s former CEO had named his successor in August due to failing health stemming from his battle with pancreatic cancer, but very few people could imagine a world without one of the most creative thinkers and influential innovators in the 21st century.

The Steve Jobs legacy is not lost; rather it has only just begun. Jobs taught us many valuable lessons about life and about careers. His very famous commencement speech, delivered in 2005 to a Stanford University crowd, covered these lessons. As many people know, Jobs never completed college nor did he grow up in a privileged lifestyle. Rather, Jobs discovered success by being an entrepreneur and world-changer.

The first lesson that Jobs taught us is that all knowledge has a purpose. Following his dropout from college, Jobs decided to take a calligraphy course that covered typography font sizes and proper placement of letters. He did not know at that time that this information would later come to play as he developed the code, which would become the Apple operating system. If you are struggling to find your career niche, try to think of ways in which you can utilize the knowledge you have already gathered for this is valuable, whether you realize it or not.

A second career lesson that Jobs taught us that you must have a dream and be resilient in order to be successful in life. When Jobs started working on his ideas, from the meager location of an garage, he saw the bigger picture as he built the Macintosh computer. Even as he got fired by his partner from his own company in the prime of his life, at age 30, Jobs never lost sight of this dream. He instead, bounced back and took his knowledge in a new and very profitable direction. In your own career, whether you are looking for something new or on the rebound from a job loss, take heart and know that success is just around the corner if you look for it.

As Jobs wrapped up his monumental commencement speech, he also talked about making the most of life. He famously said, 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.” How true and how profound this statement is. If you want to be your very best in your career, listen to your heart and surround yourself with people who encourage you to reach your full potential.

If you are struggling in your career path, or want to learn about great new job opportunities, check here at Davis Staffing for up-to-date temporary assignments with the best companies.

Photo Credit: CrunchBase