Steve Jobs – The Weekly Sparkle

Dogma. Synonyms of this would be undoubtable ‘truth’ or ‘belief.’ Dogmatism is “a set of beliefs or doctrines that are established as undoubtedly in truth.” Translation, Dogma is what society creates and tells us are ideals. What we should wear, how we’re supposed to act, who we should date, who we should marry, what kind of job we should want, what kind of car we need, what is okay, what’s considered sensitive, how much we should weigh, and lastly, my favorite, what’s expected of us as a whole.

Whether your younger or older, I can imagine that at one point in our lives all of us have felt as though we were supposed to fit into a specific mold. There is a standard out there, created by whom I’m unsure, but there are guidelines presented before us that we’re expected to fill into, somewhere. I believe the point in this saying and why I want to talk about it, is that it is SO EASY to fall into these set out expectations and feeling like you need to go down a path others have set for you.

Our entire lives there will be people we feel as though we need to act a certain way around, because that’s how we allow them to make us feel— do not give power to these people. Even if it’s not verbalized, we give in to these individuals by over-thinking our relationships with them or worrying about them when we shouldn’t. Again, time wasted. We shouldn’t allow people who contribute so little to our growth as human beings a second more than they deserve.

You do NOT need to fall in line with a path that has been beaten for you. There is no extra time given to those who try and please other first, and themselves second. Let me repeat that, there is NO extra time given to those who try and please others first, and themselves second. We all get the same 24 hours, and at one point we need to stop dreaming of what it is we want to do, and actually begin taking the steps to get there. It is okay to like making others happy, but at the end of the day, you have to be pleased with yourself.

So follow your heart. Write down what it is that you want to do- your expectations of yourself. Write them down on paper, online, in a checklist, and mostly, write it in your heart. If you can block out the negative voices that tell you you’re going against the grain, you’ve already won half of the battle. I firmly believe that I lived the first half of my life letting Dogma choose the direction I would go. I followed the crowd and wanted to be liked, which meant doing what others thought I should be doing, even if it wasn’t something I cared for or enjoyed. As I keep growing into an adult, I’m finding that who I’ve decided I wanted to become is actually well received– and liked. All along I was trying to fit in, when the person I am meant to be, needs to stand out, and this person sparkles.

When you feel good about who you’re becoming and the people by your side, there is no care of Dogma or time being wasted. Life your own life, trust in your own instincts, believe in yourself and GO. YOU are first… negative, fears, others, dogma, circumstance, is all… second.

The true you will Sparkle, trust me.

-Aurora Beani

“When you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world, try not to bash into the walls too much, try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader, once you discover one simple fact, and that is that everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”
– Steve Jobs

http://t.co/rsS3FmJtoE

I had the opportunity to watch this video a few days ago, and I knew it was something worth sharing. Steve Jobs is someone I have grown to admire over recent years, as it seemed like his influential and motivational speeches, comments, conversations etc came more to light before his passing. I lump the lessons I’ve learned from him with some of my other favorite, inspirational people, like Oprah, Ellen and classic go-to, Confucius.

Last weekend, I walked in my graduation from the University of Scranton where I received my Masters degree in Community Counseling and Mental Health. While I finished classes months ago, I knew I wanted to walk in the ceremony, as the sense of accomplishment and success hadn’t fully set in since completing my course work. This is probably how I stumbled across this video. Each year around graduation time, all of these videos, commencement speeches and books surface to inspire the grads as they move ahead in life. “Sky’s the limit,” “Oh the places you will go;” “Let your dreams and ambitions come true,” are all sayings and motivation we offer to those graduating in our lives to show them we believe in them and know they have the power to accomplish great things.

In hearing Steve talk in this segment, I’m inspired by the not-so-common approach he takes when looking at achievement and success in life. He says, “…life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.” I LOVE this. He’s right. The world we live in tells us what our successes can amount to and what is expected of us as we strive toward greatness.

I guess what I gather from this mainly, is that we are the ones who can define for ourselves just what greatness is. This is why I’ve begun my journey and created The Weekly Sparkle. This is what my site and definition of Sparkle is: become your best self in the way that YOU define it. Go against the grain. It is so easy to fall in line with what society tells us and expects of us. I am by no means saying we shouldn’t want a family, good career or to “stay in the lines.” I’m simply saying that the greatness within you can be one that the world has never seen; spinning a new way to influence others and add value to the world we live in.

My desire in life is to break the mold, be different, inspire others and leave the world a little bit brighter, just because I was here and impacted the lives of others. As I reached another great milestone in my life, I’m reflecting upon the amazing experiences I’ve had so far, where they can take me, and the blank pages ahead of me that are open for my interpretation and ability to make a change.

I want to continue to pass the Sparkle to all of you, and challenge you to do the same for those in our life. Go against the grain, and be bold.

Sparkle strong,

Aurora

Tag: Steve Jobs

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