Steve Jobs Was Wrong. We CAN Connect Dots Forward
Steve Jobs said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” Steve Jobs was brilliant. And I disagree with him on this.
I think we CAN connect the dots forward.
In fact, I think that's what situational awareness and creativity are all about.
Remember those “Connect the Dot” coloring books we had growing up?
Each page had numbered dots that seemed random, but when you drew a line between the dots, a picture emerged that suddenly made sense. Voila! It’s a cat! It's a car!
I believe the same thing happens in life (and in our career) when we keep our antenna up for intuitive dots - what Rumi called "the voice that doesn't use words."
Whenever we get an urge to write THIS down, reach out to THIS individual, take action on THAT opportunity, it's in our best interests to honor our instincts.
When we do, we co-create a 1 + 1 = 11 synchronicity that serves al involved.
It's important to act on “dot thoughts” even when they don’t make sense. (Especially when they don’t make sense.
Because “dot thoughts” aren't coming from logic, they’re coming from a situational awareness that attunes us to negative/positive vibrations and potential outcomes.
That may sound woo-woo, so feel free to call these whatever feels true for you, whether that's hunches, nudges, God Winks, gut instincts, intuition. We've all experienced them.
A TV interview with security consultant Gavin de Becker (author of The Gift of Fear) crystallized my clarity about this. The reporter asked what he'd discovered that was surprising. (A great question in any interview, by the way).
De Becker said if one of their clients is assaulted or kidnapped, he debriefs them once they're safe His first question is, “Did you have any warning?”
Guess what they all say? “I knew something was wrong.”
But they looked around and dismissed their fears with, "It’s broad daylight. I’m in an armored car with bodyguards. It's okay." They let their intellect over-rule their instincts.
I had an epiphany.
If we have instincts that warn us when something's about to go wrong, don't we also have instincts that alert us when something's about to go right?
If we have a sixth sense that alerts us to dissonance, doesn't that same sixth sense also alert us to resonance?
Who knows exactly how or why this happens. What's important is to accept it DOES happen, and our role is to pay attention to the intuitive nudges that are trying to get our attention, and to act on them.
When we do, we partner with life and it just keeps getting better and better.
I know from experience that my instincts have my best interests at heart.
If someone or something feels "off," I head the other direction.
If there is a whisper in my ear to reach out to a specific person or act on a particular option, I trust this individual and opportunity are aligned with my values and vision. They are congruent and compatible and will move my life forward - for good.
That's not just my opinion and experience.
Einstein said, "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."
Starting today, honor the intuitive mind that is trying to serve you.
Understand, creativity is simply collecting and connecting new dots... in new ways.
Acting on congruent dots that resonate and feel right sets up IKIGAI - a purposeful life where you have things to look forward to and a reason to wake up in the morning.
When we are situationally aware, when we act on the signals that are being sent us, we create a "rising tide" ripple effect where our life and career just keep getting better and better because we're?cooperating?with what wants to happen instead of trying to?control?it.
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Want more about this? Check out Sam's SOMEDAY is Not a Day in the Week book.
Founder & CEO of Qubit Institute of Technology
1 年Why do I see only Keynote and motivational speakers? Let’s talk about the dots in Technology.
Machine Intelligence Engineer | Product Innovator | Growth Strategist Creating scalable, data-driven solutions that drive growth and impact. Led YoY user growth to 1M+ in previous role.
2 年Existence precedes essence
Hi Sam -- Another great article! I'm connecting a lot of dots forward right now. I'm getting divorced, moving back to San Francisco, starting a new office job so I can land with some money and starting up my Psychic Healing and Reading business again. Oh, and I just started working with a publisher for my new book, "Sleeping Happily Ever After: A Playful Guide to Restful Sleep". I enjoy all of your posts and would like to have a phone conversation with you in the near future. Lynn Grasberg
Psychologist, Consultant, two time New York Times Bestselling Author, B-School Lecturer, Keen Observer of the Human Race
2 年I believe he meant to say that the past provides us with information that influences our "instincts" on how to act forward. For example, there is a scene in 2001 where one of the astronauts is holding what appears to be an i-Pad. Jobs, in fact acknowledges this as an influence of his idea and combined with his thinking about mobile communication and laptop computes, I-pad is born. It is hard to think about innovation without having a place to start from--nobody thought about color TV until there was first black and white. Many times, as I remember, the dots in coloring books were numbered so you would no the order and order would form the shape. If you track the history of innovation in ANY industry, you will see the innovation is a natural progression of the past. However, according to the last 8 weeks in the Market, Apple did not see a recession and supply chain problems coming and a China lockdown.