| Recently, Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer | | | | How manytimes have you heard the following? |
| and Pixar | | | | "I'm never dating again because of my past |
| Animation Studios, gave a commencement address | | | | experienceswith..." |
| to thegraduating class at Stanford University. He | | | | "I don't want to take on the new project because it |
| talked aboutcreating passion, life and death, and | | | | is toohigh profile and I might fail." |
| "connecting the dots." | | | | "I don't want the promotion because of what |
| The dots were events in his life, many challenging | | | | happened thelast time..." |
| and manypositive, which led to his many successes. | | | | Basing our past experiences on life's variables that |
| He shared withthe audience that being fired from | | | | have norelation to the present will make us miss new |
| Apple Computer, thecomputer he founded, he was | | | | opportunities. |
| able to step back and developthe idea for Pixar | | | | There is an expression I often use, "You need to go |
| Animation Studios. By achieving the greatsuccess at | | | | throughthe mud to get to the gold." In other words, |
| Pixar, he was eventually asked to come back tolead | | | | we all need toexperience the "road bumps" in life to |
| Apple Computer. This eventually led him to | | | | know and appreciatethe real opportunities in life. |
| spearheadthe launching of one the most revolutionary | | | | 3. Accelerate the Dots in Your Life |
| products of the | | | | You can speed the amount of success by |
| 21st century...the iPod. He feels that he would never | | | | continuouslylearning. Continuously work on your |
| haveachieved his successes without his failures and | | | | communication, careeror business, and technical skills |
| setbacks. | | | | so that you can embraceopportunities that come |
| He was able to connect the dots to see how it all | | | | your way. |
| added up. | | | | One of the best ways to learn is by volunteering. I |
| So I ask you, "Have you connected your dots?" | | | | recentlyhad lunch with Carol at a recent conference. |
| Here are five reasons why taking the time to | | | | She shared withme that she had started working in a |
| connect thedots will give you a roadmap for success | | | | school over fifteenyears ago because her kids were |
| in your life: | | | | in the school system. |
| 1. All Dots are Good | | | | Because of that, she volunteered for as many |
| Many times we face challenges in our life that, at | | | | school-relatedactivities as possible that would involve |
| thatmoment, look like failures. Because we are | | | | her kids. Shebecame an expert and the person to go |
| focused on theimagined "downside" of the challenge, | | | | to concerning manyschool subjects. Recently, an |
| we lose focus on thegood that can come out of the | | | | opening in thesuperintendent's office came up, and |
| challenge. | | | | her name was on theshort list. Because of her vast |
| I had an ex-Navy civilian in one of my workshops | | | | experience and, even moreimportant, because many |
| ondownsizing. He said he was part of a downsizing | | | | people knew of her expertise, shewas an easy |
| process bythe Navy two years ago in Ohio. You can | | | | decision for the position. |
| imagine he washurt, upset, and concerned that he | | | | Learning accelerates your dots. |
| wouldn't find another jobafter his twenty years in | | | | 4. Bypass Dots Only with Wisdom |
| the Navy. Then he refocusedhimself on what he | | | | Many times we try to skip a step or two in life. We |
| could do to make this situation positive. | | | | haveheard about people who have "instant" success |
| He started doing job research, making telephone | | | | and thenlose it all almost as fast. They never |
| calls,networking, and sending resumes. Within three | | | | acquired the wisdomneeded to maintain their success. |
| months afterhis layoff, he received his dream job | | | | Take time to learn from the events in your life. Like |
| offer from the Navy. Itwas a technical job he always | | | | the quotegoes, "Smart people learn from their |
| wanted at a pay scale muchbetter than his previous | | | | mistakes; truly wisepeople learn from other people's |
| job. The best part of his new jobwas that it allowed | | | | mistakes." |
| him to move back to his hometown of | | | | 5. Go Forward and Connect the Dots |
| Virginia Beach. | | | | Take time to plan your future events and goals |
| All dots are good; it's the way we look at them that | | | | based onyour past events. Analyze the positive |
| lead toour success. | | | | outcomes from thoseevents and use them to plan |
| 2. Be Willing to Go to the Next Dot | | | | for the future. That is the secretto true success. |
| Due to past "negative" experiences, many times we | | | | So go forward and connect the dots, and you will |
| avoidnew challenges because we want to feel "safe." | | | | realizeyour roadmap to success. |