one of the most inspiration speech by steve – his commence ceremony speech.

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.

乔布斯说：“记住你即将死去”帮我指明了生命中重要的选择。因为所有的荣誉与骄傲，难堪与恐惧，在死亡面前都会消失。我看到的是留下的真正重要的东西。当你担心你将失去某些东西时,“记住你即将死去”是最好的解药。如你能够清空一切, 你没有理由不去追随你心。

Full Text:

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.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn’t interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn’t all romantic. I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down – that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “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.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.

This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope it’s the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

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.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960′s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much

progress is made by (lazy) people who find easiest way on doing things.

and:

KISS (keep it simple and stupid)

there are many examples where being simple ultimately win. Google is a good example, before google, websites have a trend of being more fancy and complex, but google’s search page is very simple, it is even rediculous, a textbox and a search button. but it attracts more people than other search engines. it provides an interface that allow users to do what they want, that is to search for information. it provides that function, and nothing else.

in software, the best codes are written to achieve the same functionality with the minimum codes necessary, a good developer would say, if i have more time, i will write less codes.

begin with an end in mind. work on something that would really make you happy and be proud.
– 7 habits

yet no one seems to care, yak.. and talk show jokes around on this:

“The government is one week away from running out of money to pay its bills. So basically, our nation has become Nicholas Cage.” —Conan O’Brien

We’re getting closer and closer to the country going into default. We could be out of money by August 2nd. How many people are surprised by that? How many people are surprised we still have enough money to make it until August 2nd?” —Jay Leno

“It’s not, ‘All right, let’s all chip in and we’ll buy a keg for the big party.’ It’s, ‘Buy me a keg and I won’t burn your f**kin’ house down.’” —Jon Stewart on Republicans’ approach to compromise during debt negotiations

“Democrats warned that if the debt ceiling isn’t raised, the government would cease to function. How would you be able to tell?” —Jay Leno

“The NFL lockout is over. All the parties agreed and we have a compromise. It’s too bad the national debt isn’t as important as football.” –David Letterman

“On August 2, the United States government runs out of money. They may even have to stop paying Captain America.” –David Letterman

“Jeb Bush may run for President. Bush Presidencies are like ‘Caddyshack’ movies. They should have stopped with one.” –David Letterman

“The country is running out of money and everyone is fighting. It reminds me a lot of my childhood.” –Conan O’Brien

“In his speech, President Obama said that ‘compromise’ has become a dirty word. Then he told Republicans to go compromise themselves.” –Conan O’Brien

“McDonald’s has added apple slices to their Happy Meals. Then an hour later, McDonald’s added cheese and beef to their apple slices.” –Conan O’Brien

“The debt ceiling debate is such a mess right now, Al Qaeda is desperately trying to find a way to take credit for it.” –Jimmy Kimmel

“If the debt ceiling isn’t raised by Aug. 2, the whole country can go into default and we won’t be able to pay our bills. Then we’ll have to ask our parents for money, which will be very embarrassing.” –Jimmy Kimmel

“President Obama urged the American people to call Congress and demand that both parties work together on a compromise. The calls are 99 cents for the first minute, and a trillion dollars for each additional minute.” –Jimmy Kimmel

“‘Debt ceiling,’ to me, sounds like a boring John Grisham novel, but apparently it’s very important.” –Jimmy Kimmel

“‘Captain America’ made $65 million over the weekend, which is about twice what actual America made.” –Jimmy Kimmel

“On CNN, Tim Pawlenty accused President Obama of ‘hiding in the basement’ during debt ceiling talks. While Joe Biden accused President Obama of ‘locking him in the basement’ during debt ceiling talks. ” –Jimmy Fallon

“Iowa Congressman Steve King says that if the country falls into default, President Obama could be impeached. Obama could stop that with three words: ‘President Joe Biden.’” –Jay Leno

“We are $14 trillion in debt. To understand how much money that is, imagine grocery shopping at Whole Foods every day of the month.” –Jay Leno

“Scientists say DNA shows humans used to have sex with Neanderthals. Scientists don’t call them cave men because they often lived other places. We’ve spent a lot of time looking for them in caves when they were actually living in million-dollar compounds in Pakistan.” –Craig Ferguson

“The ‘debate’ we’ve been having? Is that what that noise out of Washington has been? It sounded like an elephant seal trying to f**k a truck.” –Jon Stewart, on the debt ceiling “debate”

“Did the president just quit? Seriously, you’re the president. You’re asking us to call Congress? … I actually feel bad for the president. He interrupted ‘The Bachelorette’ to be like, ‘Could you call your congressman? I can’t talk to these people.’” –Jon Stewart

David Letterman’s “Top Ten Ways Barack Obama Can Win Over The Republicans”

10. Show up to next meeting in a Captain America uniform
9. Burn everyone a really cool mix CD
8. Bribe them with free tickets to a ‘Larry the Cable Guy’ show
7. Raise the debt ceiling, but do it with a fun sound effect
6. Do something about the heat
5. Swap places with another guy named Barack Obama — hey, don’t miss the new reality show ‘Same Name’ Sundays at 9:00 p.m. on CBS!
4. Put Chuck Norris on the nickel
3. Like I’m the right guy to ask for advice on winning people over
2. Don’t be such a poor sport when they call him a socialist, foreign-born, radical Muslim who’s trying to destroy America
1. Kill bin Laden again

two circles:
circle of concern – this is the existing problems, issues
circle of influence – those concerns that you have impact on.

proactive people will focus on the circle of influence and enlarge the circle
reactive people will focus on the circle of concern and do nothing

be the one who think and act proactively, not be acted upon.

after finishing as runner up in australia open, Li Na finally got her first grand slam champion today in french open, it is amazing feeling, never have i imagined will see a chinese player standing on the top of one of the top tennis event.

never give up, as Trump said, is what drive success.

Left brain has nothing right
Right brain has nothing left

joke but is there any truth out of it?

• what is happiness? many people has different definitions. having it all vs having what you want, it should reflect your dream but also need to be achievable; Beth further suggested some guidelines: Family life, Relationships, Favorite activities and hobbies, Education, health, personal and professional network, personal achievement, financial, professional success, commumnity, etc
•happiness by author’s parents: they taught me that happiness i sa choice and that happiness is what you make out of life. they taught me that happines i turning lemons into lenonade every day and minimize all the things that make you unhappy. they taught me that happiness comes from looking at every situation and making the best of it.
•when things do not go as expected, have a good altitude towards it – god is trying to teach us a lesson here. several suggestions: be realistic yet optimistic, own your altitude, look on the bright side, play the ‘what is the worst case scenario?’ game and figured out a way to deal with it – this would allow moving on, take on problem at a time, develop a support network, pray or mediate.
•avoid what holds your happiness hostage: minimizing worry and negative thoughts. keep things on perspective and focus on the good. ask ‘if you were to say i did a great job six months from now, what would i have done?’,, this helps set the stage of undersing what are the true value. take control. dont wear yoru worry, dress it up a bit, and let it go. trim your worry list, and ask ‘what are the worst can happen’ and have a contingent plan if that indeed happen and feel good about it. again, focus on the good side.
•hang with a gang that gets it
•dump the to do list and start the i wish list
•take the un out of the unhappy and be grateful – a thank you a day keeps the doctor away
•oh happy day: get your happiness on the calendar now
•when all else fails, just laugh
•boost not only workplace happiness but also your and your company’s performance

look hard into the mirrow, be honest with your self, follow Beth’s advice, and become more productive and honestly happy