2010: What Matters Now? Lessons from Steve Jobs and  Rosie

The photo is of my daughter Rosie, in the Himalayan Mountains during her month long study abroad program in India. Although she spent a few days in New Delhi and a few hours at the Taj Mahal the majority of her time was spent in Dharmasala learning from, living and volunteering with Tibetan refugee's.

At coffee this morning her oval shaped, brown eyes brimmed with tears as she laid her head on the table and wondered;WHAT now?

We talked about what mattered now, now that she had experienced India, Dharmasala and the people whose stories and lives she could not forget. We talked about 'WHAT' use to matter; a fun social life, good grades and friends contrasted to what mattered now.

Now  she explained, her priorities were to get back to campus and learn as much as she could.  She wants to dive into politics, cultural conflict, poverty, India, International Studies and leaders who have made a difference. There is a hunger, a passion inside of her that is undeniable. She has found her WHAT's….( at least for now.)

I sat in the tiny coffee shop in downtown Kirkland with tears brimming in my own eyes as I listened and watched my daughter, the little girl I welcomed 20 New Years Day's ago into this world, wrestle with the enormity of the WHAT's that have caught her heart and soul. I was inspired, inspired beyond words by her desire to affect change, to help others.

Later in the day I felt called to revisit Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement speech.  I''ve watched this video several times and yet I still find myself drawn to watch it again and again, it's as if I want to make sure the lessons become engrained in me.

  I love how Jobs' transparently reminds us all that he never graduated from college, those undergraduate requirements didn't matter that much to him…..But he stuck around campus and sat in on plenty of classes and ran into other things that did matter to him, that captured his attention, that stirred him and that inspired him into his garage and a startup called Apple.

I love how Job's implore's us to do what we love, to find something that matters. I love the fact this guy has told himself for quite sometime that he will one day be dead, as will all of us. I love how real he is. I love that loss led to him finding something new and that at each turn in his life what others would deem failure was mere re-routing, a new direction and new adventures.

2010: What Matters Now? Rosie and Steve reminded me today… 2010 is not about settling nor is it about mere survival. NOW is the time to  throw our hearts, souls, minds and bodies into living our very best lives…

Thoughts….?

Pam Hoelzle