stay hungry. stay foolish. these are closing words of Steve Jobs’ commencement address to the 2005 graduate class at Stanford University. I have included my favourite three paragraphs from this address below:

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.

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary

– Steve Jobs

these words. powerful. they resonate with me. i carry them around with me. they hang in my office. they are written in my journal. it is my mantra. they speak to me on so many different levels. for myself, for all of us, i think it is such a strong reminder, daily, to make sure we are making the most of our time. as i write this, i completely acknowledge i am writing this from a place of new found passion. but, that is why i am writing it. life is about timing. sometimes we have great timing and sometimes, we do not. sometimes we feel the world is kicking us when we we are down, and sometimes, we feel on top of the world- like the world wants us to win. what i have learned is that when we are listening to our inner voices, it really doesn’t matter. being true to ourselves is first and foremost. everything else will fall into place. like my dad said to me once, ‘do you know why it is the right decision? because you made it, that is why’. let that be your guiding principle, it is mine.

lise

xo.

Seven days ago I found myself in my office at work scanning websites when I was hit with a lightening bolt, my life realization, my Oprah ‘ah- ha’ moment….

Backstory: A little bit about me… I do very few things in life half assed, and I also have very little patience. When I like something, I love it and when I think I want to do something, I completely dive in. I am THAT person you see who always ‘looks’ the part but may not always ‘be’ the part… you know… the person who rolls onto the golf course like they have been a part of the LPGA for the past 5 years but in all honesty, has only seen a driving range in the past two years! I am the person that when I decide I am going to try something, I am all in before I even know if I will enjoy it. Crazy. I know. Nonetheless, it is who I am. So with that said, let’s fast forward to today.

It is of no surprise to me that in the past six days not only have I found my passion, registered a business name for this idea, purchased a domain, registered with a host company and now… looking to hire a graphic designer AND design my own website. Exhausting, right? Yah. I exhaust myself too. For the record, I also know little to NOTHING about the tech world… so I have managed to verse myself in very basic computer lingo. Don’t worry, I am also impressed with myself (ha!).

Girl on fire? Well, that is how I feel right now. My mind will not slow down. I am literally waking up in the middle of the night and writing ideas in my bedside notebook. I am obsessed with fonts and design as I want to be ‘branded’ just perfectly. I am feeling completely overtaken and I love it. This is much different than anything I have ever experienced before. For as long as I can remember, I have been on this search for my ‘thing’, my passion, my purpose… people, I think I have found it.

stay tuned.

lise

xo