The Must-Read Steve Jobs Speech That Will Change Your Life

This is the "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish" address delivered by Steve Jobs in 2005 at Stanford University: 

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

About A Farmer (A Short Story)

There was a farmer who grew superior quality and award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won honor and prizes.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learnt something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbours'.

"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.

"Why sir, "said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbours grow inferior, sub-standard and poor quality corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn, If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours grow good corn".

The farmer gave a superb insight into the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbour's corn also improves. So it is in the other dimensions!

Those who choose to be at harmony must help their neighbours and colleagues to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well. The value of a life is measured by the lives it touches.

Success does not happen in isolation. It is very often a participative and collective process. So share the good practices, ideas, new learning with your family, team members, neighbours.

Respect Others ( A Short Story)

Maharaja Ranjeet Singh has been one of the greatest king in India. Once he was on tour visiting his kingdom in night in camouflage. During visit, a beggar recognised him and he bowed in front of Maharaja to pay respect. Maharaja, in response to the beggar, bowed even more to him and paid him a bagful of money.

When Ranjit Singh moved on, his general curiuosly asked him, "Sir, you are such a great Maharaja. Why did you bowed in front of that beggar?"

Then Ranjit Singh said, "That beggar was poor and illiterate. When despite this fact, he knew how to pay respect to others; I am much more educated than him, so I should have shown much more respect to him. And that's exactly what I did."

Put The Glass down! (A Short Story)

Once A professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it.

He held it up for all to see; asked the students, "How much do you think this glass weighs?

'50gms!' ?....'100gms!' .....'125gms' ......the students answered.

'I really don't know unless I weigh it,' said the professor, 'but, my question is: What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?' "Nothing" the students said.

OK what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?' the professor asked.

Your arm would begin to ache' said one of the students.

You're right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?' Your arm could go numb, you might have severe muscle stress & paralysis; have to go to hospital for sure! ventured another student ; all the students laughed.

Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?

Asked the professor. No replied the students Then what caused the arm ache; the muscle stress?' Instead What should I do?

The students were puzzled. Put the glass down! said one of the students.

Exactly!' said the professor' Life's problems are something like this.

Hold it for a few minutes in your head; they seem OK. Think of them fora long time; they begin to ache. Hold it even longer; they begin to paralyze you.

You will not be able to do anything.

It's important to think of the challenges (problems) in your life, but Even MORE IMPORTANT to 'put them down' at the end of every day before you go to sleep.

That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh; strong;can handle any issue, any challenge that comes your way!

Remember everyday- PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY!

The Obedient Wife ( A Short Funny Story)

There was a man who had worked all his life, had saved all of

his money, and was a real "miser" when it came to his money.

Just before he died, he said to his wife..."When I die, I want
you to take all my money and put it in the casket with me. I
want to take my money to the afterlife with me."

And so he got his wife to promise him, with all of her heart,
that when he died, she would put all of the money into the casket with him.

Well, he died. He was stretched out in the casket, his wife was
sitting there - dressed in black, and her friend was sitting next
to her. When they finished the ceremony, and just before the
undertakers got ready to close the casket, the wife said, "Wait just a moment!"

She had a small metal box with her; she came over with the box and put it in the casket. Then the undertakers locked the casket down and they rolled it away. So her friend said,

"Girl, I know you were not fool enough to put all that money in there with your husband."
The loyal wife replied, "Listen, I cannot go back on my word. I promised him that I was going to put that money into the casket with him."

You mean to tell me you put that money in the casket with him!?!?!?"

"I sure did," said the wife. "I got it all together, put it into my account, and wrote him a check.... If he can cash it, then he can spend it."

MORAL :  Do not mess around with women !!!!!

The Empty Chair ( An Amazing Short Story)

A man's daughter had asked the local pastor to come and pray with her father. When the pastor arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. "I guess you were expecting me," he said.

"No, who are you?"

"I'm the new associate at your local church," the pastor replied. "When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up."

"Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?"

Puzzled, the pastor shut the door.

"I've never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. "But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it always went right over my head.."

"I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, "until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, 'Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here's what I suggest. Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, 'I'll be with you always.' Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you're doing with me right now."

"So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful, though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."

The pastor was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, and returned to the church.

Two nights later the daughter called to tell the pastor that her daddy had died that afternoon.

"Did he seem to die in peace?" he asked.

"Yes, when I left the house around two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me one of his corny jokes, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange, In fact, beyond strange--kinda weird. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on a chair beside the bed."

God Speak To Me ( A Short Story)

The man whispered, "God, speak to me." And a meadow lark sang. But, the man did not hear.

Then the man yelled "God, speak to me." Thunder rolled across the sky. But, the man did not listen..

The man looked around and said, "God, let me see you."And the stars shined brightly. But the man did not notice

And, the man shouted, "God, show me a miracle."And, a life was born. But the man did not know.

So, the man cried out in despair, "Touch me God, and let me know you are here." Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man. But, the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.

So remember, don't miss out on a blessing because it isn't packaged the way that you expect. Take notice of the blessings around you.

The Ultimate 6 Management Lessons

Lesson: 1

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs.

When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel". After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.

The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?"

3 Kick Rule

A big city lawyer went duck hunting in Texas. When a flock of ducks flew over, the lawyer shot and dropped a duck. Unfortunately, the duck fell on the other side of a fence from where he stood.

As the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly farmer drove up on his tractor and asked him what he was doing.

The litigator responded, ‘I shot a duck and it fell in this field, and now I’m going to retrieve it.’

The old farmer replied, ‘This is my property, and you are not coming over here.’

The indignant lawyer said, ‘I am one of the best trial attorneys in the United States and,

if you don’t let me get that duck, I’ll sue you and take everything you own.’

The old farmer smiled and said, ‘Apparently, you don’t know how we settle disputes in Texas.

We settle small disagreements with the ‘Three Kick Rule.”

The lawyer asked, ‘What is the ‘Three Kick Rule’?’

The Farmer replied, ‘Well, because the dispute occurs on my land, I get to go first.

I kick you three times and then you kick me three times and so on back and forth until someone gives up.’

The attorney quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided that he could easily take the old codger.

He agreed to abide by the local custom.

The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the attorney.

His first kick planted the toe of his heavy steel toed work boot into the lawyer’s groin and dropped him to his knees.

His second kick to the midriff sent the lawyer’s last meal gushing from his mouth.

The lawyer was on all fours when the farmer’s third kick to his rear end, sent him face -first into a fresh cow pie.

The lawyer summoned every bit of his will and managed to get to his feet.

Wiping his face with the arm of his jacket, he said, ‘Okay, you old fart. Now it’s my turn.’

The old farmer smiled and said, ‘Nah, I give up. You can have the duck.’

WHEN YOU ARE EDUCATED, YOU WILL BELIEVE ONLY HALF OF WHAT YOU HEAR……WHEN YOU ARE INTELLIGENT, YOU KNOW WHICH HALF.

A Heart Touching Story - A Box Full of Kisses

 

The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy." 

The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when