Steve Jobs, cofounder of Apple and CEO who made it the most valuable company in the world spent three decades asking his mirror a question. Adventure lies on the other side of the answer.
An Adventurous Life
Steve Jobs experienced an adventurous life. At 13 he talked to one of the creators of HP, a big office electronics company and future computer powerhouse, and landed his first job. He became a video game maker working for Atari at 19, but then quit to go to India to seek enlightenment.
At 21 he made his first big sale of fifty computers, and just two years later his company, Apple, made the first mass-market personal computer. It only took another two years for him to be worth $200 million dollars.
Steve had a life of ups and downs, but that includes a lot of ups. He bought what eventually became Pixar, was worth $1.5 billion by the time he was 40, and brought devices like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad to the masses.
He truly had an adventurous life, and there’s one thing he did for most of his life that helped keep the streaks alive.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
Steve Jobs knew that life was precious and good work came from being really passionate about what he was doing. He created a daily ritual.
In 2005, when he was giving the commencement address at Stanford University, he talked about one thing that kept him on track every day:
For the past 33 years, I have 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 something.
As powerful as that is, what he said next in that speech is even more powerful:
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.
Your Best Life
What would your mirror tell you today? What do you need to do to see the adventure in what you’re doing?
What are you ready to discover, enjoy, and experience today? What’s stopping you?
Life is an adventure. Go live it!
