乔布斯给出的最佳建议

文/阿尔普·米马尔奥卢 译/毛思玉

全世界的创业者都崇拜史蒂夫·乔布斯，理由也相当充分——他果敢而富有远见，彻底颠覆了科技行业。时至今日，即使史蒂夫·乔布斯已逝世多年，人们仍然认为他是值得效仿的榜样。他提供的宝贵建议将有助于指导下一代革新者。

要想成功，就要找到自己热爱的工作

2在2007 年的D5 大会上，一名听众问史蒂夫·乔布斯，对于创建有价值的公司，如果只给创业者提出一条建议，他会提哪一条。乔布斯直截了当地回答：要想成功，你就要对自己正在从事的工作充满热情。

3在给出答复时，乔布斯承认其实这条建议早已人尽皆知且获得普遍认同。他的真知灼见在接下来的一番话里，他解释了为何成功取决于热爱你所做之事——因为这是坚持下去的唯一途径。

4正如乔布斯所说的那样，创业并非易事。要想成功，你必须勤奋努力，并且在很长一段时间内坚持不懈地克服一再出现的挑战。面对持续不断的挑战，大多数人会放弃。但那些热爱自己所做之事的人会坚持下去，因为他们的动力来自内在热情而不是外部奖励。

让好奇心和直觉引导你

52005 年，史蒂夫·乔布斯在斯坦福大学毕业典礼上发表演讲，他强调了相信自己的直觉以及追随自己的好奇心的重要性。乔布斯鼓励学生追求自身兴趣，即便这些兴趣在当时看来似乎不切实际。他认为自己的成功在很大程度上要归功于这条人生哲理。

6为了说明这一点，乔布斯举了他从里德学院退学的例子。退学后，乔布斯无须再担心是否能达到特定的课程要求，于是他可以自由地旁听任何他感兴趣的课程。

7例如，乔布斯上了一门书法课。他觉得这门课很有趣，但在当时似乎没有什么实际意义。直到后来回顾自己的人生时，乔布斯才意识到书法课的重要性——这门课让他深入理解了精妙的排印学，后来他把课上所学都用在了设计麦金塔计算机上。

8乔布斯相信，好奇心和直觉都是值得信赖的向导。即使你看不到每一个决定通向何方，你也必须相信好奇心和直觉会引导你沿着正确的道路前进。

忽略他人的期望

9史蒂夫·乔布斯多次建议人们忽略别人强加的限制，专注创造自己的生活。1994 年，在接受圣克拉拉谷历史协会的采访时，乔布斯谈到社会上条条框框的错误本质，并表示他认为人们应该质疑这些限制。他相信，如果人们愿意挑战现状，他们就有能力改变自己和他人的人生。

10在斯坦福大学的毕业典礼演讲中，史蒂夫·乔布斯重申了这一点。他说：“时间有限，不要虚掷光阴过别人的生活。不要让条条框框束缚自己，否则你只能依附于别人思考的结果。不要让周遭的聒噪言论淹没你内心的声音。最重要的是，你要有勇气追随自己的内心和直觉，因为这二者在冥冥之中早已知晓你真正想成为什么样的人，其他所有事都是次要的。”

克服对失败的恐惧，做行动家

111994 年，在接受圣克拉拉谷历史协会的采访时，史蒂夫·乔布斯谈到了失败。采访中，乔布斯描述了他在自己位于加州帕洛阿尔托的家中，给惠普公司联合创始人比尔·休利特打电话的情景。当时只有12 岁的乔布斯想要制造一个计频器，于是打电话给休利特问他是否有备件。休利特不仅给了乔布斯所需的器件，还在次年夏天雇他在惠普工厂的装配线上组装计频器。

12乔布斯用这个例子来说明，只有当你愿意采取行动追求你想要的东西时，成功才会到来。乔布斯没有害怕休利特的回应，也没有找借口，而是试着碰碰运气，结果就如愿以偿了。在采访中，乔布斯说：“这就是行动家与梦想家的区别：你必须行动起来，你必须愿意接受失败。”

牢记期限

13史蒂夫·乔布斯明白不断意识到自己死期将至是什么感觉。2003 年，他第一次被诊断出患有癌症，但直到2011 年10 月才因病逝世。然而，早在确诊患癌之前，乔布斯就明白，每一天都很重要，因为我们在这个星球上的时间是有限的。

14乔布斯在2005 年的毕业典礼演讲中传达了这一宝贵的人生智慧。在演讲中，乔布斯称他在17 岁时读到了对他一生都具有指导意义的一句话。那句话是这样说的：“把每一天都当成生命中的最后一天，总有一天你会如愿以偿。”

15乔布斯接着解释了这句话如何影响了他的人生。他说：“从那时起，在过去的33 年里，我每天早上都会对着镜子问自己：‘如果今天是此生最后一日，我愿意做我今天要做的事吗？’每当连续很多天我都回答‘不愿意’，我就知道我必须有所改变了。”

16乔布斯进一步解释了这种做法的重要性。“提醒自己快死了，这是我用过的最重要的、能帮我做出重大人生决策的方法。因为几乎所有事——所有外界期望、所有骄傲之心、所有对困窘或失败的恐惧，都会在死亡面前消失，只有真正重要的东西才会留下。提醒自己快死了，这是我所知道的、避免掉入畏惧失去的陷阱里最好的方法。你已然了无牵挂，没理由不顺心而为。” □

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.” ■