Connect the Dots! Your Roadmap for Success

Recently, Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer and Pixar
Animation Studios, gave a commencement address to the
graduating class at Stanford University. He talked about
creating passion, life and death, and “connecting the dots.”
The dots were events in his life, many challenging and many
positive, which led to his many successes. He shared with
the audience that being fired from Apple Computer, the
computer he founded, he was able to step back and develop
the idea for Pixar Animation Studios. By achieving the great
success at Pixar, he was eventually asked to come back to
lead Apple Computer. This eventually led him to spearhead
the launching of one the most revolutionary products of the
21st century…the iPod. He feels that he would never have
achieved his successes without his failures and setbacks.
He was able to connect the dots to see how it all added up.
So I ask you, “Have you connected your dots?”
Here are five reasons why taking the time to connect the
dots will give you a roadmap for success in your life:
1. All Dots are Good
Many times we face challenges in our life that, at that
moment, look like failures. Because we are focused on the
imagined “downside” of the challenge, we lose focus on the
good that can come out of the challenge.
I had an ex-Navy civilian in one of my workshops on
downsizing. He said he was part of a downsizing process by
the Navy two years ago in Ohio. You can imagine he was
hurt, upset, and concerned that he wouldn’t find another job
after his twenty years in the Navy. Then he refocused
himself on what he could do to make this situation positive.
He started doing job research, making telephone calls,
networking, and sending resumes. Within three months after
his layoff, he received his dream job offer from the Navy. It
was a technical job he always wanted at a pay scale much
better than his previous job. The best part of his new job
was that it allowed him to move back to his hometown of
Virginia Beach.
All dots are good; it’s the way we look at them that lead to
our success.
2. Be Willing to Go to the Next Dot
Due to past “negative” experiences, many times we avoid
new challenges because we want to feel “safe.” How many
times have you heard the following?
“I’m never dating again because of my past experiences
with…”
“I don’t want to take on the new project because it is too
high profile and I might fail.”
“I don’t want the promotion because of what happened the
last time…”
Basing our past experiences on life’s variables that have no
relation to the present will make us miss new opportunities.
There is an expression I often use, “You need to go through
the mud to get to the gold.” In other words, we all need to
experience the “road bumps” in life to know and appreciate
the real opportunities in life.
3. Accelerate the Dots in Your Life
You can speed the amount of success by continuously
learning. Continuously work on your communication, career
or business, and technical skills so that you can embrace
opportunities that come your way.
One of the best ways to learn is by volunteering. I recently
had lunch with Carol at a recent conference. She shared with
me that she had started working in a school over fifteen
years ago because her kids were in the school system.
Because of that, she volunteered for as many school-related
activities as possible that would involve her kids. She
became an expert and the person to go to concerning many
school subjects. Recently, an opening in the
superintendent’s office came up, and her name was on the
short list. Because of her vast experience and, even more
important, because many people knew of her expertise, she
was an easy decision for the position.
Learning accelerates your dots.
4. Bypass Dots Only with Wisdom
Many times we try to skip a step or two in life. We have
heard about people who have “instant” success and then
lose it all almost as fast. They never acquired the wisdom
needed to maintain their success.
Take time to learn from the events in your life. Like the quote
goes, “Smart people learn from their mistakes; truly wise
people learn from other people’s mistakes.”
5. Go Forward and Connect the Dots
Take time to plan your future events and goals based on
your past events. Analyze the positive outcomes from those
events and use them to plan for the future. That is the secret
to true success.
So go forward and connect the dots, and you will realize
your roadmap to success.