Confucius once said, “Every man has two lives. The second one starts when you realize you will die.”

In the 56 years of his life, Steve Jobs made some of the biggest impacts in the field of technology. From Apple to Pixar, he challenged the status quo everywhere, truly living by what he preached: Make a dent in the world.

You might be aware that Jobs spent his last few years struggling with cancer, but this did not change his way of life much. This is contradictory to what we learned earlier about Gerotranscendence and changing worldview of terminally ill people. Why?

The reason for this “Why?” also holds the secret for Jobs’ success.

The idea of death was always close to Jobs. In his Stanford commencement speech from 2005, he tells how a quote changed his life way before he was diagnosed with cancer:

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 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. 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.

How often do you ask yourself if something deserves your time? Be honest and question the value of everything. If your day is full of mere obligations, it might be a good idea to live the way Jobs did, and rather reallocate that time to meaningful things.

Change always feels hard in the beginning, but if you take one step at a time to remove these weeds from your Garden, you will slowly start feeling lighter as you reclaim your time. This will also set the right expectations with others as they will learn what kind of things you are likely to say “no” to.

Seize the day! 😊