There is No Reason Not to Follow Your Heart

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.

– Steve Jobs (1955−2011), Stan­ford com­mence­ment address, June 2005.

Image source: Bloomberg Busi­ness­week (via SPD).