Excerpt:

“My training has been in doing things that take a long time … I’m a long term kind of person. I have been trained to think in units of time that are measured in several years, because what I’ve chosen to do with my life. Even a small thing takes a few years. To do anything of magnitude takes at least five, more likely seven or eight. So, rightfully or wrongfully, that’s how I think.”

Paul Graham’s “Writing and Speaking” essay hits home my sentiments on writers versus speakers.

Favorite line:

“Being a really good speaker is not merely orthogonal to having good ideas, but in many ways pushes you in the opposite direction.”

“Shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you’re just going to live in it versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it.”

In today’s world, we’re so focused on instant gratification and what’s up or down. After reading Walter Isaacson’s biography of Jobs, what was so profound about his legacy was his ability to not get caught up in the daily hype. With both Apple and Pixar, he patiently let both grow in their own sustained ways. His style was simple and consistent.

It’s so easy to get distracted by the noise of the moment and get frustrated about the seemingly tedious work you’re doing today, building towards tomorrow’s great achievement. People may misunderstand you, think you’re contrarian or crazy, but, remember, “the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”

From the eulogy:

He didn’t favor trends or gimmicks. He liked people his own age.

His philosophy of aesthetics reminds me of a quote that went something like this: “Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later; art can be ugly at first but it becomes beautiful later.”

Steve always aspired to make beautiful later.

He was willing to be misunderstood.

“Today, we are the creators. We each have our own unique skills and talents to contribute to creating the kingdom of god. We serve god best when we do what we love for the greatest cause we can imagine. What the people in this room do is spiritual. It is profound. We are the leaders of this new religion. We have faith that people connected can create a new world. Each one of use is a creator, but together, we are the Creator.”

“Smiling is one of the most basic, biological, uniform expressions of all humans.”

“Spontaneous compassion.”

From TED:

John Hunter puts all the problems of the world on a 4′x5′ plywood board — and lets his 4th-graders solve them. At TED2011, he explains how his World Peace Game engages schoolkids, and why the complex lessons it teaches — spontaneous, and always surprising — go further than classroom lectures can.

From TED:

Phyllis Rodriguez and Aicha el-Wafi have a powerful friendship born of unthinkable loss. Rodriguez’ son was killed in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001; el-Wafi’s son Zacarias Moussaoui was convicted of a role in those attacks and is serving a life sentence. In hoping to find peace, these two moms have come to understand and respect one another.