How to Develop the Drive of a Genius

Steve Jobs has a secret.

If you don't recognize his name, he's the CEO of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios (creator of the first computer animated feature film, Toy Story).

By any standards, he is a very successful man. Not just in the business world, but at home as well. The great thing about amazing success like his is that it leaves clues.

What do I mean? Let me explain a little further.

Steve Jobs is driven. He's someone who can pick a goal and feel powerfully motivated to do whatever it takes to make it happen. Now, wouldn't you like to be able to do that?

I'm guessing you would, but the truth is that a most driven people either don't know what motivates them or never get the chance to personally share their secrets with us.

Steve Jobs is different.

Some time ago he gave a commencement speech at Stanford University, and in the last part of his talk he told the students his secret, the principle that kept him going with such passion and power.

I want to share it with you today so you can enjoy the same kind of success and happiness.



When the Idea Hit Him


At just 17 years old, Jobs read a quote that really hit home, so much so that it changed the way he looked at his life forever. As he recalled in his speech, it went
something like this...

'If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right.'

In other words, you're not going to live forever. Most people avoid this truth like the plague, but that's the worst mistake you can make because it's one of the most
powerful tools you can use to live a truly remarkable life.

There are so many things you want to do, but because of fear, you aren't going after them like you know you could be.

You're holding back, sticking to your comfort zone to avoid failure, embarrassment, and pain. But as Steve Jobs put it,these fears fall away when faced with the fact that one day you'll run out of chances to go for it.

And he's right.

You may be afraid of going all out, but if you really think about it, I believe you're more afraid of never giving it a try at all. The only problem is that we don't think about it that way. We like to fool ourselves into believing that we have forever and a day to do the things we want to do.

We don't.