The majority of people have heard of Steve Jobs and the legend he has left behind with Apple Computers. Steve was a true story of an underdog and a ‘lucky one’. He never finished college but he still managed to start up his own computer company and turn it into a billion dollar corporation. I recently watched his movie and something he said in passing at the beginning really struck me. He said, “The only thing this system (school) does is teach us how to follow the system.”
We spend 22-25 years of our lives learning things inside a classroom. We spend elementary, middle and high school sitting in chairs getting taught to ask permission for everything we do. We are given homework assignments that are nothing short of repetition to engrain these thoughtless concepts into our heads. We are taught that unless we can get good grades, we are worthless. Stupid. Oblivious. And if we can’t seem to handle getting programed 6 hours a day we are told we have a disability and are given drugs to help us focus.
Our world has changed. Where society and classrooms used to see artists, we now see doodlers. Where we used to see dreamers, we now see disorders. Where we used to see people who questioned the system, we see criminals and radicals that should be put behind bars for ‘disturbing the peace’. What peace? This peaceful knowledge of knowing everything is ok and how it should be? A peace of mind knowing that you are doing a job that is putting food on the table and supporting your family? Why do we think these things are all ok to settle for? Why do we have to settle for ok, when we can have something amazing? Why do we have almost half a century of our lives turning in pieces of paper that will only diminish our creativity even more?
As an almost graduated college student, I tend to ask the majority of professionals I meet how they got the job they have now. The majority of them tell me that their jobs ended up being completely irrelevant to their majors. Not because their majors weren’t useful, but because they did not realize their passion while in college. They chose a major based on the skills they had found they succeeded at in prior school years, not off of their passion in life. Why do schools spend all this time teaching us this system and then tell us to worship creative visionaries like Steve Jobs? “But you aren’t Steve Jobs” They have told me more than once. "He got lucky, but the way we teach is a guaranteed ticket to success." Well, why can’t I strive to achieve the level of creative visionary that Steve Jobs has? What is the difference between me and Steve Jobs?
Yes, if I tried to create a new concept that rivaled Apple, I probably would not succeed as much as Jobs did. But why can’t I dare to be different and be just as crazy as he was? He saw something and went after it. He disregarded all warnings and all systems that were already in place and then ended up creating his own way of doing things. I would not be able to live with myself if I ended up working a job that I did not have passion for.
When I'm successful and students start coming up and asking me how I got to where I was, I don’t want to tell them that my profession was something I stumbled into. I want to tell them that I fought for it. I want to tell them that I disregarded the preconceived ideas that fell behind success. I want to tell them that I saw something and went after it the way I wanted to. I want to tell them it wasn't easy but I succeeded anyways. I want to tell them I was hungry and I wanted it bad enough. They say that the people who are crazy enough to try and change the world are the ones the usually do. What is so crazy about changing the world though? The second someone can give me a solidified answer for that, I plan on already having made my mark.
We spend 22-25 years of our lives learning things inside a classroom. We spend elementary, middle and high school sitting in chairs getting taught to ask permission for everything we do. We are given homework assignments that are nothing short of repetition to engrain these thoughtless concepts into our heads. We are taught that unless we can get good grades, we are worthless. Stupid. Oblivious. And if we can’t seem to handle getting programed 6 hours a day we are told we have a disability and are given drugs to help us focus.
Our world has changed. Where society and classrooms used to see artists, we now see doodlers. Where we used to see dreamers, we now see disorders. Where we used to see people who questioned the system, we see criminals and radicals that should be put behind bars for ‘disturbing the peace’. What peace? This peaceful knowledge of knowing everything is ok and how it should be? A peace of mind knowing that you are doing a job that is putting food on the table and supporting your family? Why do we think these things are all ok to settle for? Why do we have to settle for ok, when we can have something amazing? Why do we have almost half a century of our lives turning in pieces of paper that will only diminish our creativity even more?
As an almost graduated college student, I tend to ask the majority of professionals I meet how they got the job they have now. The majority of them tell me that their jobs ended up being completely irrelevant to their majors. Not because their majors weren’t useful, but because they did not realize their passion while in college. They chose a major based on the skills they had found they succeeded at in prior school years, not off of their passion in life. Why do schools spend all this time teaching us this system and then tell us to worship creative visionaries like Steve Jobs? “But you aren’t Steve Jobs” They have told me more than once. "He got lucky, but the way we teach is a guaranteed ticket to success." Well, why can’t I strive to achieve the level of creative visionary that Steve Jobs has? What is the difference between me and Steve Jobs?
Yes, if I tried to create a new concept that rivaled Apple, I probably would not succeed as much as Jobs did. But why can’t I dare to be different and be just as crazy as he was? He saw something and went after it. He disregarded all warnings and all systems that were already in place and then ended up creating his own way of doing things. I would not be able to live with myself if I ended up working a job that I did not have passion for.
When I'm successful and students start coming up and asking me how I got to where I was, I don’t want to tell them that my profession was something I stumbled into. I want to tell them that I fought for it. I want to tell them that I disregarded the preconceived ideas that fell behind success. I want to tell them that I saw something and went after it the way I wanted to. I want to tell them it wasn't easy but I succeeded anyways. I want to tell them I was hungry and I wanted it bad enough. They say that the people who are crazy enough to try and change the world are the ones the usually do. What is so crazy about changing the world though? The second someone can give me a solidified answer for that, I plan on already having made my mark.
Letting Go Of All Dignity And Dressing Up For a Speaking Event
