These are lines from one of Steve Jobs’ famous speeches. Steve Jobs is, after all one of the greatest entrepreneurs the world has ever seen; from the time he popularized the very idea of the personal computer, he achieved countless accomplishments. His life went through many ups and downs.
Many of us know that he was someone who began life from a very low point. He went through many bitter experiences as well. He even had to face a situation where he had to leave the very company he founded. Just as he was waiting to achieve much and conquer great heights, he fell ill and passed away prematurely. It was at a moment when his life was passing through its most critical stage that he delivered this speech in 2005 to the students of the world-famous Stanford University.
As we stand at the beginning of a new year, what I wish to tell the readers are Steve Jobs’ own words: ‘Stay hungry, stay foolish’. This is how I try to explain these words.
‘Hunger’ refers to the intense desire to learn new things. When a person feels hungry, it is a sign that he is healthy. Lack of appetite can even be a symptom of illness. It is because our physical functions work smoothly that we feel hunger. Being hungry for something new means having new goals and new efforts. Our life gains meaning when there are new advances in it. If at any time we feel ‘This is enough’, then life will no longer have momentum. Life will start becoming dull from that point onward. Therefore, stay hungry for what is new.
Being foolish means learning to accept failures in life. Not everyone succeeds all the time. Many people achieve success only after trying many times and failing many times. Take an art form like acting. How many takes… retakes… Only at the very end of such a process does that astonishing acting moment happen. If instead, one were to stop after the first take or decide that “This won’t work” and withdraw, nothing new will happen there. Some failures before others might lead them to judge us as fools. But even then, do not be discouraged. Only a person who recognizes within himself that he is not a fool-even when others consider him one-will be able to create success.
In the past year, we may not have succeeded as we had hoped. We may not have had achievements worth noting. Do not weaken. Do not be discouraged. We still have another year to move forward. A year means a new opportunity and a new possibility. If we have hunger, we are safe. It is hunger that makes us seek food, that makes us work. May the hunger for what is good be present on every day of the new year. That hunger is what gives energy to our steps in the days ahead.
Let me share a few more of Steve Jobs’ lines:“Time is limited. Live your own life in the right way instead of living someone else’s life. Do not eat the results of others’ thinking. Do not let the noise of others’ opinions drown out the voice rising from within you.”
Wishing all readers a happy New Year.
Regards
Prof Antoney P Joseph
