喬布斯給出的最佳建議

文/阿爾普·米馬爾奧盧 譯/毛思玉

全世界的創(chuàng)業(yè)者都崇拜史蒂夫·喬布斯，理由也相當(dāng)充分——他果敢而富有遠(yuǎn)見，徹底顛覆了科技行業(yè)。時(shí)至今日，即使史蒂夫·喬布斯已逝世多年，人們?nèi)匀徽J(rèn)為他是值得效仿的榜樣。他提供的寶貴建議將有助于指導(dǎo)下一代革新者。

要想成功，就要找到自己熱愛的工作

2在2007 年的D5 大會(huì)上，一名聽眾問史蒂夫·喬布斯，對(duì)于創(chuàng)建有價(jià)值的公司，如果只給創(chuàng)業(yè)者提出一條建議，他會(huì)提哪一條。喬布斯直截了當(dāng)?shù)鼗卮穑阂氤晒Γ憔鸵獙?duì)自己正在從事的工作充滿熱情。

3在給出答復(fù)時(shí)，喬布斯承認(rèn)其實(shí)這條建議早已人盡皆知且獲得普遍認(rèn)同。他的真知灼見在接下來(lái)的一番話里，他解釋了為何成功取決于熱愛你所做之事——因?yàn)檫@是堅(jiān)持下去的唯一途徑。

4正如喬布斯所說的那樣，創(chuàng)業(yè)并非易事。要想成功，你必須勤奮努力，并且在很長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間內(nèi)堅(jiān)持不懈地克服一再出現(xiàn)的挑戰(zhàn)。面對(duì)持續(xù)不斷的挑戰(zhàn)，大多數(shù)人會(huì)放棄。但那些熱愛自己所做之事的人會(huì)堅(jiān)持下去，因?yàn)樗麄兊膭?dòng)力來(lái)自內(nèi)在熱情而不是外部獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)。

讓好奇心和直覺引導(dǎo)你

52005 年，史蒂夫·喬布斯在斯坦福大學(xué)畢業(yè)典禮上發(fā)表演講，他強(qiáng)調(diào)了相信自己的直覺以及追隨自己的好奇心的重要性。喬布斯鼓勵(lì)學(xué)生追求自身興趣，即便這些興趣在當(dāng)時(shí)看來(lái)似乎不切實(shí)際。他認(rèn)為自己的成功在很大程度上要?dú)w功于這條人生哲理。

6為了說明這一點(diǎn)，喬布斯舉了他從里德學(xué)院退學(xué)的例子。退學(xué)后，喬布斯無(wú)須再擔(dān)心是否能達(dá)到特定的課程要求，于是他可以自由地旁聽任何他感興趣的課程。

7例如，喬布斯上了一門書法課。他覺得這門課很有趣，但在當(dāng)時(shí)似乎沒有什么實(shí)際意義。直到后來(lái)回顧自己的人生時(shí)，喬布斯才意識(shí)到書法課的重要性——這門課讓他深入理解了精妙的排印學(xué)，后來(lái)他把課上所學(xué)都用在了設(shè)計(jì)麥金塔計(jì)算機(jī)上。

8喬布斯相信，好奇心和直覺都是值得信賴的向?qū)?。即使你看不到每一個(gè)決定通向何方，你也必須相信好奇心和直覺會(huì)引導(dǎo)你沿著正確的道路前進(jìn)。

忽略他人的期望

9史蒂夫·喬布斯多次建議人們忽略別人強(qiáng)加的限制，專注創(chuàng)造自己的生活。1994 年，在接受圣克拉拉谷歷史協(xié)會(huì)的采訪時(shí)，喬布斯談到社會(huì)上條條框框的錯(cuò)誤本質(zhì)，并表示他認(rèn)為人們應(yīng)該質(zhì)疑這些限制。他相信，如果人們?cè)敢馓魬?zhàn)現(xiàn)狀，他們就有能力改變自己和他人的人生。

10在斯坦福大學(xué)的畢業(yè)典禮演講中，史蒂夫·喬布斯重申了這一點(diǎn)。他說：“時(shí)間有限，不要虛擲光陰過別人的生活。不要讓條條框框束縛自己，否則你只能依附于別人思考的結(jié)果。不要讓周遭的聒噪言論淹沒你內(nèi)心的聲音。最重要的是，你要有勇氣追隨自己的內(nèi)心和直覺，因?yàn)檫@二者在冥冥之中早已知曉你真正想成為什么樣的人，其他所有事都是次要的?！?/p>

克服對(duì)失敗的恐懼，做行動(dòng)家

111994 年，在接受圣克拉拉谷歷史協(xié)會(huì)的采訪時(shí)，史蒂夫·喬布斯談到了失敗。采訪中，喬布斯描述了他在自己位于加州帕洛阿爾托的家中，給惠普公司聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人比爾·休利特打電話的情景。當(dāng)時(shí)只有12 歲的喬布斯想要制造一個(gè)計(jì)頻器，于是打電話給休利特問他是否有備件。休利特不僅給了喬布斯所需的器件，還在次年夏天雇他在惠普工廠的裝配線上組裝計(jì)頻器。

12喬布斯用這個(gè)例子來(lái)說明，只有當(dāng)你愿意采取行動(dòng)追求你想要的東西時(shí)，成功才會(huì)到來(lái)。喬布斯沒有害怕休利特的回應(yīng)，也沒有找借口，而是試著碰碰運(yùn)氣，結(jié)果就如愿以償了。在采訪中，喬布斯說：“這就是行動(dòng)家與夢(mèng)想家的區(qū)別：你必須行動(dòng)起來(lái)，你必須愿意接受失敗?！?/p>

牢記期限

13史蒂夫·喬布斯明白不斷意識(shí)到自己死期將至是什么感覺。2003 年，他第一次被診斷出患有癌癥，但直到2011 年10 月才因病逝世。然而，早在確診患癌之前，喬布斯就明白，每一天都很重要，因?yàn)槲覀冊(cè)谶@個(gè)星球上的時(shí)間是有限的。

14喬布斯在2005 年的畢業(yè)典禮演講中傳達(dá)了這一寶貴的人生智慧。在演講中，喬布斯稱他在17 歲時(shí)讀到了對(duì)他一生都具有指導(dǎo)意義的一句話。那句話是這樣說的：“把每一天都當(dāng)成生命中的最后一天，總有一天你會(huì)如愿以償?！?/p>

15喬布斯接著解釋了這句話如何影響了他的人生。他說：“從那時(shí)起，在過去的33 年里，我每天早上都會(huì)對(duì)著鏡子問自己：‘如果今天是此生最后一日，我愿意做我今天要做的事嗎？’每當(dāng)連續(xù)很多天我都回答‘不愿意’，我就知道我必須有所改變了?！?/p>

16喬布斯進(jìn)一步解釋了這種做法的重要性?！疤嵝炎约嚎焖懒耍@是我用過的最重要的、能幫我做出重大人生決策的方法。因?yàn)閹缀跛惺隆型饨缙谕?、所有驕傲之心、所有?duì)困窘或失敗的恐懼，都會(huì)在死亡面前消失，只有真正重要的東西才會(huì)留下。提醒自己快死了，這是我所知道的、避免掉入畏懼失去的陷阱里最好的方法。你已然了無(wú)牽掛，沒理由不順心而為。” □

Entrepreneurs all over the globe admire Steve Jobs, and for good reason; he was a bold visionary who completely revolutionized the tech industry.Even today, many years after his death,people still consider Steve Jobs a role model worth emulating. The valuable advice he provided will help guide the next generation of innovators.

To be successful, find work you’re passionate about

2During the D5 Conference in 2007,an audience member asked Steve Jobs what single piece of advice he would give entrepreneurs on building valuable companies. Jobs answered the question plainly: in order to be successful,you must be passionate about the work you’re doing.

3In giving his answer, Jobs acknowledged the fact that this piece of advice is widely circulated and generally regarded as true. The real insight came when Jobs explained the reason success is dependent upon loving what you do—because that’s the only way you’ll persevere.

4As Jobs explained, building a business is not an easy task. To be successful, you must work hard and overcome repeated challenges over a long period of time without giving up. When faced with these ongoing challenges, most people will quit. But those who love what they’re doing will persevere because they’re driven by their passion,not by external rewards.

Let your curiosity and intuition lead you

5In his commencement address at Stanford University in 2005, Steve Jobs emphasized the importance of trusting your gut and following your curiosity.Jobs encouraged students to pursue their interests, even if they seem impractical at the time. He believed that much of his success could be attributed to this philosophy.

6To illustrate this point, Jobs described what happened after he dropped out of Reed College. Since he no longer had to worry about meeting specific course requirements, Jobs was free to audit whatever class piqued his interest.

7For example, Jobs took a class on calligraphy. He found the class fascinating but at the time it seemed to serve no practical purpose. It was only later,in looking back on his life, that Jobs recognized the importance of that calligraphy class; it gave him an understanding of great typography which he later applied when designing the Macintosh computer.

8Jobs believed that curiosity and intuition are trustworthy guides. Even if you can’t see where each decision is leading, you must have faith that your curiosity and intuition are guiding you along the right path.

Ignore the expectations of others

9Steve Jobs repeatedly advised people to ignore the limitations imposed by others and create their own lives. In a 1994 interview with The Santa Clara Valley Historical Association, Jobs discussed the false nature of society’s boundaries and stated his belief that people should question those limitations. He believed that people have the power to changes lives—their own and those of others—if they’re willing to challenge the status quo.

10Steve Jobs reiterated this point in his Stanford commencement address.In it, he 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.”

Overcome the fear of failure and take action

11Steve Jobs discussed failure in his 1994 interview with The Santa Clara Valley Historical Association. In the interview, Jobs describes calling Bill Hewlett,the co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, at his home in Palo Alto, California. Jobs—who was only 12 years old at the time—called to ask if Hewlett had any spare parts he could use to build a frequency counter. Hewlett not only gave Jobs the parts he requested, he also hired him to work on the assembly line building frequency counters the following summer.12Jobs used this example to demonstrate that success only comes when you’re willing to take action and go after what you want. Instead of fearing Hewlett’s response and making excuses,Jobs took a chance—one that paid off.In the interview, Jobs states, “That’s what separates the people that do things from the people that just dream about them: you’ve got to act and you’ve got to be willing to fail.”

Remember there’s a deadline

13Steve Jobs knew what it was like to be constantly aware of your own mortality. He was first diagnosed with cancer in 2003 but didn’t succumb to the disease until October of 2011. But even before his diagnosis, Jobs understood that every day is important because our time on this planet is limited.

14Jobs relayed this valuable piece of wisdom during his 2005 commencement address. In it, Jobs describes how at the age of 17, he read a quote that would provide guidance throughout his life. The quote was, “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.”

15Jobs then illustrated how this quote helped shape his life by saying, “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.”

16Jobs further explained the significance of this practice. “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.” ■