{"id":603,"date":"2011-08-31T22:01:33","date_gmt":"2011-08-31T21:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lornemitchell.com\/blog\/?p=603"},"modified":"2011-08-31T22:38:44","modified_gmt":"2011-08-31T21:38:44","slug":"jobs-dots-and-coincidences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/?p=603","title":{"rendered":"Jobs, Dots and Coincidences"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In the week that Steve Jobs gave up as CEO of Apple, I was reminded by a good friend, Cliff, of part of Jobs’ address to Stamford students in 2005:<\/p>\n

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever – because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The idea that “dots will connect down the road” is such an interesting one. So many things become obvious with the benefit of hindsight. So it was, whilst on holiday in Sicily over the past ten days, that I was thinking about the importance of coincidences when looking back in life.<\/p>\n

How many times in your life have you thought “That’s a coincidence!” – and the event or chance meeting has led to something important developing further down the road?<\/p>\n

There is also the famous puzzle about how many people you need to gather together in a group for there to be less than a 50% probability that two in the group will share a birthday. The answer is not, as may would think 183 (or a half or 366) – but it is, in fact, a mere 23! \u00a0Therefore coincidences are actually more common than we might at first think!<\/p>\n

James Redfield in his book “The Celestine Prophecy” develops the main character with him beginning to notice instances of “synchronicity”, or the realisation that coincidences may have deep, sometimes spiritual meanings.<\/p>\n

And, as Einstein charmingly said:\u00a0“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”<\/span><\/p>\n

To bring me back to Steve Jobs – his creations (or the creations of Apple) have been important at certain transition points in my life – whether they be the first Apple 2 I bought in 1980, or the Macbook Air I ordered today because my MacBook Pro that I got when I set up Objective Designers 3 years ago packed up last week!<\/p>\n

Whether you believe these deeper meanings or not, REFLECT ON IT: When have coincidences changed your direction in life – or the decisions you have made? \u00a0They have for me. Maybe they have for you?<\/p>\n

Please think about these coincidences that have turned your life….and, if you think you have a good story, please put it in the comment box below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the week that Steve Jobs gave up as CEO of Apple, I was reminded by a good friend, Cliff, of part of Jobs’ address to Stamford students in 2005: “You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Jobs, Dots and Coincidences”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[77,42,41,76,5,40,37,32,50,54,65,60],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6DQGK-9J","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1903,"url":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/?p=1903","url_meta":{"origin":603,"position":0},"title":"TT1944 – On the Benefits of Hindsight","author":"Lorne Mitchell","date":"31\/10\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"When you look back in lifeHave you ever noticed thatMany things have happened to youBecause of a set of chance coincidences?They appeared in mysterious and magical waysWhich were not obvious to you at the time. Steve Jobs said: \u201cYou can't connect the dots looking forward;You can only connect them looking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apple"","block_context":{"text":"Apple","link":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/?cat=77"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lornemitchell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/flower-1817511_1280.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lornemitchell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/flower-1817511_1280.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lornemitchell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/flower-1817511_1280.png?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lornemitchell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/flower-1817511_1280.png?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1492,"url":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/?p=1492","url_meta":{"origin":603,"position":1},"title":"Hearts, Minds and Connecting the Dots","author":"Lorne Mitchell","date":"01\/02\/2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I was recently asked to comment on a blog\u00a0exploring the idea as to whether or not it is \"critical to follow your heart\". \u00a0It got me thinking (quite a bit). \u00a0Oh, and I make no excuses for the apparent New Age flavour to this post. \u00a0It's just how it came\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Back to Front"","block_context":{"text":"Back to Front","link":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/?cat=106"},"img":{"alt_text":"Chakra","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lornemitchell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Chakra1-300x221.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1775,"url":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/?p=1775","url_meta":{"origin":603,"position":2},"title":"Connecting Dots, Throwing Javelins and Grassroots Movements","author":"Lorne Mitchell","date":"15\/08\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"We all love them, don't we? Whether it is the weather, election results or even horoscopes, the human psyche is intrigued by those who believe that they can predict the future. Yet, in the past few of years, things that seemed to have been stable and predictable have had an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Back to Front"","block_context":{"text":"Back to Front","link":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/?cat=106"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1793,"url":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/?p=1793","url_meta":{"origin":603,"position":3},"title":"If there is one thing you’re going do as we go into 2018, make it this!","author":"Lorne Mitchell","date":"31\/12\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Someone asked me what one word or phrase I would use to take me into 2018, leave behind those ideas, things and people you don't need anymore and create something new and vibrant. I thought for a moment and then said \"I use the term \"Lighten Up! quite a lot.\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Ideas"","block_context":{"text":"Big Ideas","link":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/?cat=42"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lornemitchell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Screen-Shot-2017-12-31-at-10.24.22-1.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1653,"url":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/?p=1653","url_meta":{"origin":603,"position":4},"title":"The Art & Science of a Successful Product Launch","author":"Lorne Mitchell","date":"17\/09\/2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Steve Jobs became the iconic figure standing in a black turtleneck sweater introducing the next wave of Apple's innovation in the noughties. \u00a0Year-in, year-out, Apple perfected the pre-launch leaks, the launch itself and the post-launch record-breaking. \u00a0It is difficult to find another company that has done this so well and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apple"","block_context":{"text":"Apple","link":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/?cat=77"},"img":{"alt_text":"jobs launch","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lornemitchell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/jobs-launch-300x171.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":667,"url":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/?p=667","url_meta":{"origin":603,"position":5},"title":"Steve Jobs RIP","author":"Lorne Mitchell","date":"06\/10\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I cannot mark today's Thursday Thoughts without a tribute to Steve Jobs. \u00a0He became a legend in his own lifetime and he has surely changed the way that we work, \u00a0play and think. \u00a0He will be sadly missed having made a unique contribution to those who live beyond his untimely\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apple"","block_context":{"text":"Apple","link":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/?cat=77"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lornemitchell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Steve-Jobs-max-250x250.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=603"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":608,"href":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603\/revisions\/608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.lornemitchell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}