On the finish of his life, Steve Wozniak will not measure his happiness by the dimensions of Apple’s market cap or his private web value.
As a substitute, the Apple co-founder will take into consideration the jokes he informed and the laughter he shared with household and pals — and he needs others to do the identical, he informed College of Colorado Boulder graduates throughout a graduation speech final week.
In his speech, Wozniak recounted an article he as soon as examine ex-Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone. “He was flying around to one city to sell a company for a billion of today’s dollars, and then flying to another one … I thought, ‘Wow. To have that kind of wealth and power, would you want that when you die?'” stated Wozniak, 73.
The reply was “no,” Wozniak continued: “I want to die remembering my pranks, and the fun I had, and funny jokes. I decided that that life, for me, was not about accomplishment. It was about happiness.”
A easy equation for locating happiness
Wozniak provided up a easy equation for locating happiness: “H equals S minus F,” or happiness equals smiles minus frowns. In his case, smiles usually come from household, music and comedy, he stated.
Wozniak’s love of comedy as soon as acquired him into bother on the very college the place he spoke. In 1969, he was expelled from the College of Colorado Boulder for hacking into the college’s laptop methods and sending prank messages. He later re-enrolled in school in his residence state of California, earlier than dropping out and ultimately co-founding Apple with Steve Jobs in 1976.
You’ll find pleasure in different areas of life past household, music and comedy. The concept is just to concentrate on what makes you content, and intentional about in search of it out. Folks usually battle to search out happiness as a result of they see it as a vacation spot — in the event that they get married or have children or get a giant promotion, they will lastly be pleased — in line with social scientist and Harvard College professor Arthur C. Brooks.
Brooks calls this the “arrival fallacy, ” he informed CNBC Make It final 12 months.
“Happiness isn’t a destination; it’s a direction,” stated Brooks. “The way that we get happier has somewhat to do with the things going on outside of us, but it has more to do with our inner lives.”
Discovering issues to be pleased about within the midst of hardship — like your family members or good well being — can shift your mind right into a extra optimistic mindset and assist you overcome these challenges, Wozniak added.
“Stay honest, keep smiling and pay your own successes forward,” he stated.
Need to be a profitable, assured communicator? Take CNBC’s new on-line course Turn into an Efficient Communicator: Grasp Public Talking. We’ll educate you how you can communicate clearly and confidently, calm your nerves, what to say and never say, and physique language strategies to make an important first impression. Preregister at the moment and use code EARLYBIRD for an introductory low cost of 30% off via July 10, 2024.
Plus, join CNBC Make It is publication to get ideas and methods for fulfillment at work, with cash and in life.