Connect The Dots Looking Forward

In his iconic commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005, Steve Jobs made an incredible statement: “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” With this statement, he laid down the foundational picture of life itself and emphasized a determining factor most of us unfortunately fail to value. Each action and every single decision of every instant of our lives count in the way that, put together, they form the overall picture we want to paint for our future. Think of it as putting together a jigsaw puzzle, this time, with no preset image, but with the power to shape your own picture through it, as you gather the pieces and connect the dots.

This is a very unconventional way to think, although I stress that it should be the norm. Life isn’t a linear path we take, but each step defines the following one and you’d be surprised how much we’re interdependent and interconnected, not just between our individual actions, but between our generational ones. Just like Winona LaDuke said: “What our seventh generation will have is a consequence of our actions today.” Unfortunately, we’re, for the most part, lost trying to survive that we disregard the very dots we need to connect to take us out of the rat race.

But there’s one particular point I’d like to argue from Steve Job’s saying; you actually can connect the dots looking forward. I believe I subtly made that point in the previous paragraph, but the following three points are the reasons I think so.

1. You have the ability to set a goal and make adjustments along the way to ensure that things connect the way you want them to.

Steve Jobs is a clear example of someone who connected the dots looking forward. When he created Apple, he had the vision to "put a computer in the hands of everyday people." From working in his father’s garage to dropping out of law school, he intentionally followed a path that, looking back, created a satisfying design in his eyes. "Everything the mind can conceive, it can achieve," as Jim Rohn said, and Steve definitely achieved his dream as he conceived it.

I want to emphasize this point not because I believe Steve Jobs underestimated the power of vision; he was one of the most influential visionaries of the 20th century and changed the world in ways no one else could. However, I have heard many misquotes and misunderstandings of his words, assuming that one cannot direct their future to their desired destination. He didn’t mean to act inconsequently, nor was it a pass for being unintentional. The best way to summarize what he meant is this: "You may not be able to connect the dots with a straight line, but if you’re intentional and proactive, they will connect, and looking back, you’ll be surprised by what you’ve accomplished”.

2. Everything is "buildable" over time.

Instinctively, we tend to think and act as if each action or thought is isolated in its own bubble, and once done, it’s done. We don’t realize that we live in an infinite loop of causality. It’s well known to us all that our actions build up into the life we want; the consequence is something we live every second of every day, yet few of us are really paying attention to how we build the future.

I remember being at an interview when the interviewer told me that this wasn’t a career, it’s just a job. Inadvertently or not, the tone of her message is meant to highlight the unimportant nature of the position I’m seeking. Unfortunately, a vast majority of people address things with such disregard; everything, unless it’s grandiose, is unimportant, missing the point that everything is buildable over time. A career is built upon skills garnered over time by doing jobs that anyone may take for granted, just like you build many other things that most of us want, such as wealth, health, wisdom, knowledge, etc.

"Every great thing takes time," as we all know. The reason behind the time it takes to accomplish something great is that it needs to accumulate to its full potential. John Wooden puts it way better than I can; he said: "Good things take time, as they should. We shouldn’t expect good things to happen overnight. Actually, getting something too easily or too soon can cheapen the outcome."

3. Self-respect, discipline, and consistency are the connecting factors between the dots and the way you want them to connect.

This last point is what I call the compass to use in your journey to connect the dots. Self-respect points to your worth, commitment, and priorities, while discipline and consistency draw the lines between your dots and propel you to the desired destination. With these, looking forward toward your goals is as tangible as looking backward and admiring the beautiful patterns of your tracks through the dots connecting how far you’ve come. Interestingly, too many are those with big dreams but no regard for these qualities. But as usual in life, the most important things are not the ones celebrated or upheld, which makes success harder to achieve.

If you align bricks across a path on the road, the crossing should be easy if you keep the pace and the discipline laid out when setting the bricks. What most people unfortunately do is disregard the pace – most end up in the mud.

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The idea here isn’t to deny the existence of failure but to understand that if the dots don’t connect as intended, there’s evidently something vital you missed along the way. Failure is inevitable, but it is a learning curve, which is very essential to growth. Navigating the dots can be very demanding in experience, knowledge, and wisdom, and failing to learn each step will automatically set you back to repeat the stage you missed. That’s not failing; that’s recalibrating.

I confidently believe that Steve didn’t rely on any luck or blindly trust that the dots will connect in the future; he’s known as one of the most creative guys that ever lived, hardworking, result-driven, and very disciplined. Trusting the dots will connect is very much a translation of your hard work, commitment, discipline, and most importantly consistency.

It's very tempting to want to skip the learning process because we tend to compete with everyone and achieve what they've achieved. I'd blame part of that on the fact that we're bombarded all the time with success stories, achievements, and celebrations while downplaying the journeys through which they were made possible. Most people end up thinking they can just jump to the end without going through the tunnel. That results generally in failure. The undeniable key to connecting the dots looking forward is to be intentional about your journey as you are about the goal you?want?to?reach.