Poema de Natal do Alan

Veremos 18 itens:

1) No primeiro verso do “poema” do Alan, ele diz:

‘As this wonderful year draws to and end’

“Visto que este maravilhoso ano” “se encaminha para o fim”.

A palavras AS aqui, podemos entender como: As = visto que

O importante na língua inglesa é você entender que deve estudar e praticar as combinações de palavras, uma mesma palavra seguida de diferentes outras, muda o sentido. Por isso, não estudem só a tradução da palavra, e sim pense no conjunto da sentença, para de fato acertar na compreensão: Um exemplo está aqui:

Veja como podemos encontrar, mesmo no dicionário, muitos exemplos de combinações de palavras + a palavras AS.

conj 1como, quão, quanto, assim como, tal como, conforme. it looked as if they were really fighting / parecia como se eles lutassem de fato. 2 enquanto, ao passo que, no momento em que, quando. 3 porque, visto que, já que, porquanto, como. as you weren’t there, I left a message / como você não estava lá, deixei um recado. 4 se bem que, ainda que, embora, contanto que, conquanto que. 5 em resultado do que, em conseqüência do que. • prep como, na qualidade de. we all respect him as a writer / nós todos o respeitamos na qualidade de escritor. let me tell you as a friend / deixe-me dizer-lhe como amigo. • pron 1 que, quem, qual. 2 como. as a rule usualmente, em geral. as... as tão... como, tanto quanto. as ever como sempre. as far I am concerned quanto a mim, no que me concerne. as follows como segue. as for me quanto a mim. as from... válido desde... (as) heavy as lead pesado como chumbo. as if, as though como se (após os verbos com o sentido de “parecer”). as is no estado em que se encontra. as I see it, as I understand it! no meu ponto de vista. as it is/was nestas circunstâncias, de todo jeito, de qualquer forma. as it rained visto que chovia. as it were por assim dizer, de certo modo. as long as enquanto, visto que, já que. as many as tantos quantos. as of, as froma partir de. as of next week I’ll be retired a partir da semana que vem estarei aposentado. as regards no que diz respeito.as requested conforme pedido. as soon as assim que, logo que. as soon as possible o mais cedo possível. as usualcomo de costume. as yet até agora. as you were! Mil última forma! be so kind as to do it queira fazê-lo, por favor. busy as a bee diligente como uma abelha. classical books as the plays of Racine livros clássicos como os dramas de Racine. do as you wish faça como quiser. he as well as she ele como ela, tanto ele quanto ela, ambos. he went so far as to say...ele chegou a ponto de afirmar... his position as a banker sua posição como banqueiro. she smiled as she did it ela sorriu ao fazê-lo. such as como por exemplo. twice as large duas vezes maior. we may as well tell her podemos contar-lhe do mesmo jeito, não há razão para não dizer a ela.

Percebam que neste caso, as interpretações mais cabíveis ficam como conjunção: 3 porque, visto que, já que, porquanto, como. as you weren’t there, I left a message / como você não estava lá, eu deixei um recado.

E a 5 em resultado do que, em conseqüência do que

2) A próxima expressão:

To draw to na end = significa “se encaminha para o fim”, ou seja, “está terminando”.

3) So thankful = tão agradecidos

4) Blessings = bençãos

5) Galore = adjetivo = em abundância.

6) Like= como (como por exemplo...)

7) Fiancée = noiva – esta palavra é francesa, mas a língua inglesa a utiliza, é um substantivo: ela é minha noiva | she is my Fiancée

Veja bem, quando for dizer como qualidade, eu estou ‘noiva’, ‘comprometida para um casamento’, então o correto é dizer ‘engaged’ | I am engaged.

8) Whore = protistuta

9) Master = adjetivo = mestre

10) “He tried his darnedest in every class” = a palavra radical é “darned” = maldito ou terrivelmente. Aqui está darnedest, pois é o superlativo, onde neste caso, acrescentamos EST. Ele diz que Jake tentou o seu pior, ser o mais terrível em todas as aulas, ou seja, ser o pior aluno possível. E continua dizendo:

11) And made tenth grade = fez (conseguiu passar) a 10 (décima) série. (aqui no Brasil é o equivalente ao chamado colegial)

12) By the skin of his ass = expressão: Por um triz.

Originalmente ela seria dita assim: By the skin of his teeth.

O correto é sempre colocar o pronome possessivo de acordo com a pessoa, sujeito, por exemplo, se você for dizer:

Eu consegui alguma coisa por um triz, o pronome possessivo vem de acordo com o sujeito EU, ou seja My: By the skin of MY teeth.

Ela conseguiu por um triz: By the skin of HER teeth.

Ele conseguiu por um triz: By the skin of HIS teeth.

Aqui para rimar com class e ficar mais ácido o poeminha, Alan muda a palavra teeth para ASS.

13) I dare you – to dare = desafiar. Eu te desafio = I dare you

Você troca os pronomes objetos para falar de outra pessoa:

I dare HER/ HIM/ US...

14) To argue – argumentar, afirmar, deduzir

15) Leech – parasita

16) To bother = incomodar

17) Blue = triste

18) To give a rats ass = expressão : ‘dar a mínima, estar nem aí’.

Como convencer pessoas!

Persuading People

Persuasiveness is one of the most important skills anyone can learn because it is useful in countless situations. At work, at home, and in your social life, the ability to be persuasive and influence others can be instrumental for achieving goals and being happy.

Learning about the tricks of persuasion can also give you insight into when they're being used on you. The biggest benefit of this is that money will stay in your pocket as you realize just how sales people and advertisers sell you products that you don't necessarily need. Here are several techniques that work on a subconscious level.

.Framing.

“The glass is half empty.” That’s how a pessimist would "frame" the objective fact of a half a glass of water. Framing is simply a way to alter how we will sort, categorize, associate and ultimately give meaning to events, objects or behaviors.

The headline “FBI agents Surround Cult Leader’s Compound” creates a mental picture vastly different than “FBI agents Raid Small Christian Gathering of Women and Children.” Both headlines might be accurate but the words used alter the associated internal images and feelings and thereby change or alter the meaning that a person will give to the objective events.[1]

Framing is frequently used by skillful politicians. For instance, politicians on both sides of the abortion debate cite their positions as "pro-life or pro-choice" because "pro" has better connotations than "anti." Framing subtly uses emotionally charged words to shift people towards your point of view.

To frame a persuasive argument, select words that conjure images (positive, negative or neutral) in the minds of your audience. Even with other words nearby, a single framing word can still be effective. Another example is illustrated by the difference between saying "Having a cell phone will keep me out of trouble" and "Having a cell phone will keep me safe". Ponder which word is more effective for your message: "trouble" or "safe".

.Mirroring.

Mirroring is the practice of mimicking the movements and body language of the person you are trying to persuade. By acting as the person listening does, you create a sense of empathy. You can mirror hand gestures, leaning forward or away, or various head and arm movements. We all do this subconsciously, and if you pay attention you'll probably notice yourself doing it. Be subtle about it and delay 2-4 seconds between the other person's movement and your mirroring. Mirroring is also known as "the chameleon effect".[2]

.Scarcity.

Scarcity is frequently used by advertisers to make opportunities seem more appealing because they have limited availability. The assumption is that if a product is scarce, there must be a ton of demand for it! (Buy one now because they're selling out fast). Be aware that this is a technique of persuasion to which you are frequently exposed and take it into account when you make your purchase decision.

.Reciprocation.

When someone does something for us, we feel compelled to return the favor. So, if you want someone to do something nice for you, why not do something nice for them first? In a business setting, maybe you pass them a lead. At home, you might offer to lend your lawnmower to a neighbor. It doesn't matter where or when you do it, the key is to complement the relationship

.Timing.

People are more likely to be agreeable and submissive when they're mentally fatigued. Before you ask someone for something they might not readily agree to, consider waiting until they've just done something mentally taxing. This could be at the end of the work day when you catch a co-worker on their way out the door. Whatever you ask, a likely response is, "I'll take care of it tomorrow."

.Congruence.

We all try, subconsciously, to be consistent with previous actions. A technique used by salespeople is to shake your hand as he is negotiating with you. In most people's minds, a handshake equates to a closed deal, and by doing this before the deal actually closed, the salesperson is more likely to actually close it. A good way to use this yourself is to get people acting before they make up their minds. For example, if you were out and about with a friend and you wanted to go see a movie but the friend was undecided, you could start walking in the direction of the theater while they are considering it. Your friend is more likely to agree to go once he or she is walking in the direction you set.

.Fluid speech.

When we talk, we often use little interjections and hesitant phrases such as "ummm" or "I mean" and of course there is the ubiquitous "like". These little conversation fillers have the unintended effect of making us seem less confident and sure of ourselves, and thus less persuasive. If you're confident in your speech, others will be more easily persuaded by what you have to say.

.Herd behavior.

We constantly observe to those around us to determine our actions; we have the need for acceptance. We are far more likely to follow or be persuaded by someone we like or by someone who we see as an authority. An effective way to use this to your advantage is to be seen as a leader -- even if you don't have the official title. Be charming and confident and people will place greater weight on your opinion. If you're dealing with someone who isn't likely to see you as an authority (such as a superior in the workplace, or your significant other's parent) you can still take advantage of herd behavior. Casually praise a leader who that person admires. By triggering positive thoughts in that person's mind about a person they look up to, they'll be more likely to associate those qualities with you.

.Man's best friend.

To give people the impression that you're loyal, and to inspire them to be loyal to you, put up a picture of you with a dog (it doesn't even have to be your own dog). This can make you seem like a team player, but don't go overboard; putting up too many pictures can make you seem unprofessional.[3]

To be instrumental = useful

Persuasiveness – poder de persuasão

Insight – a clear understanding - discernimento

Framing – construção - point of view

Ultimately – enfim

Compound – complexo, área

Raid - invadir, atacar

Subtly – discretamente / delicadamente

Emotionally Charged words – palavras carregadas em emoção (que mexe com as pessoas)

Shift – mudar, alterar

Conjure – conjurar, atrair, evocar

Ponder – considere, pondere

Subtle – discreto, sutil

Scarceness – falta, escassez

Reciprocation – reciprocidade

Compelled – forçado

A lead – liderança

Taxing – exigente

To be out and about – able to do anything

Ubiquitous – onipresente

Thus – therefore – portanto

Aprenda Stand Up Comedy

Learn Stand-up Comedy Fast

By Steve Roye

Learn Stand-up Comedy Fast?

Yes, it is possible to learn stand-up comedy very quickly if you are a funny person in everyday life and you can embrace a few concepts that go against antiquated and ineffective “joke writing” techniques being taught today.

Let’s take a look at some of the ancient and mostly useless strategies that most people try to use when they make the decision to learn stand-up comedy, along with a fresh approach that can help you master the comedy stage very quickly.

Useless Strategy: Jokes that read funny on paper will be funny on stage.

We write much differently than we talk. Also, mere words and sentences on paper lack the presence of body language, voice inflection and tone impact that the spoken word must have to generate big laughs on stage.

Better Strategy: Use paper only as a tool to structure and format what it is that you want to talk about in your stand-up comedy act—the way you speak naturally, not the way you write a memo.

Useless Strategy: Special stand-up comedy techniques must be employed to get the big laughs on the comedy stage.

This too is false. If you are a naturally funny person, then you already use stand-up comedy “techniques” that work for you in everyday life.

Being able to merely identify a particular technique ( exaggeration, etc.) does absolutely nothing to help the aspiring funny person apply those techniques.

Better Strategy: Don’t focus on any particular joke “technique”. Focus on identifying what you would like to talk about on stage and “react” to what you have to say naturally – the way you would if you were talking to a group of friends.

Useless Strategy: Anyone can learn stand-up comedy and become funny on stage.

Once again, this is false. Short of getting a brain transplant, it is impossible for someone to learn stand-up comedy techniques and somehow “magically become” funny.

The good news is that most people have all the sense of humor they need to perform at a high level on the stand-up comedy stage. The key is to capture and structure that already developed sense of humor for the stage (which is not difficult at all).

Better Strategy: Have the courage to be yourself and to use and apply the sense of humor that you already developed and use effectively on a daily basis.

If you seriously want to learn stand-up comedy fast, here’s the very first thing you should do:

1. Transcribe just 3 minutes of your favorite comedian.

2. Note that the transcribed comedy material does not usually “read” funny and does not look like it’s “written” to be read from a piece of paper.

3. Make a note of the number of laughs for each transcribed minute and when they occurred in the transcription.

4. Make a note of the number of words used before a laugh occurs.

5. Make a note of the simplicity of the topic or topics being talked about.

This will reveal a basic blueprint that you can use to learn stand-up comedy structure very quickly. You can then apply this structure to anything that you want to talk about on the comedy stage from your own unique point of view.

Final Thoughts

Trying to fabricate jokes from a blank piece of paper that will make an audience roar with laughter can literally takes years to master. Fortunately, there are now revolutionary methods available to help people learn stand-up comedy rapidly by passing the “write jokes from thin air” approach

How to behave abroad

NEW YORK

When in China, don't give a clock as a gift. It symbolizes death. When in Greece, don't make the OK sign, thumb and forefinger touching in a circle. It is an offensive gesture. When in India; don't give a Hindu a gift made of cowhide. It is sacrilegious.

Knowing how to behave abroad can save people from some major social gaffes. However, etiquette writers and experts disagree over how far people should go in complying with foreign habits and customs that can create great discomfort to the uninitiated.

Some visitors follow a rule of thumb. They weigh how much displeasing their host matters to them against their degree of personal discomfort.

'During our briefings, we help people develop respect for the country they are going to live in,' said Claire Stewart, who works for an organization which teaches manners to people being transferred overseas by their companies or universities.

Letitia Baldridge, an authority on manners in the United States and the author of a book on the subject, said:

'Good manners are not elite, artificial or snobbish ways of behaving. Manners are a combination of common sense and consideration for others. It's 75 per cent common sense and 25 per cent thinking about others.'

Ms Baldridge, who began her career as social secretary to an ambassador and his wife at the US embassy in Paris, now teaches manners to international executives and charges thousands of dollars a session.

Her advice covers every aspect of social behavior, including smoking manners, flag etiquette for banquets, writing letters of apology, and the proper form for business cards.

Everywhere, it has become extremely complicated to be polite. Not only are customs different but in many countries standards of behavior have changed in recent years.

A young British banker recently found himself at a house party in Sydney. After a barbecue, the hosts invited everyone to climb into a large bath tub to relax. The hosts' rule was that to participate you had to take your clothes off.

'I had the option of not going in, but you feel a bit of a fool if everybody else in there is naked,' said the banker, who decided to take the plunge. To make matters worse, he was attending the house party with his boss. The hot-tub session, during which business was discussed, lasted three hours.

'Even though it felt quite good, an Englishman's reserve scarcely allows him to feel comfortable in these circumstances,' he said. 'Coming out is just as embarrassing. I was all wrinkly.'

Mrs Stewart said she believed that the banker had done the right thing, although he had an option. He could 'have had the sangfroid to decline with grace without' making the Australians feel stupid,' she said.

In a business situation, 'short of doing something unethical,' the best advice is usually 'to go along with whatever the foreign custom is,' she added.

Alexander Moorrees, a young American investment banker in London, was invited by some

British friends to spend a weekend at their home in the country. The weather was below freezing. The manor house to which he had been invited had no central heating and the bedrooms had no fireplaces. 'I kept waking up every hour to make sure I was still breathing,' said Mr Moorrees. 'I was worried I was going to die of hypothermia.'

Finally, at 3 a.m., fearing for his health, he took all his blankets, went down to the main living room, built a fire in the large fireplace, and went to sleep in front of it. He has not been invited back.

He could have followed Ms Baldridge's rule No. 2 when visiting a foreign country:

'Become familiar with the dress code in that country.' If so, he might have added long Johns and a ski mask to his wardrobe.

The top 4 things you've taught me about dating

Esta é uma postagem original de um blog de uma americana, que pedia conselhos sobre como arrumar um namorado, agora que ela conseguiu, ela decide escrever este post abaixo, agradecendo a todos que a ajudaram e a ensinaram coisas.

I’m awful at goodbyes (as you can probably tell from all of my posts about ex-boyfriends!), but alas, the time has come for me to leave Single-ish and move on! Oh now don’t cry, you’ll ruin your smoky eye. But before I go, I would like to thank you ALL for your comments and advice. So, without further ado, here are the top four things you, my lovely, loyal readers, have taught ME about love and dating.

I don’t need to change for a guy

It sounds sooooo obvious, but when your relationships keep falling apart, it can be easy to think that you are the common denominator in dysfunction. A little self-examination has led me to wonder if I need a major personality overhaul. No, says LoveIsMerelyAMadness:

“Don't change your sense of humor to make guys like you."

Simple and true. Plus, it’s exhausting to try and be someone you aren’t. I’d rather be exhausted from laughing with a guy who truly gets me! This is who I am, love it or leave it:

I need to let go of my exes already!

I should remember these sage words: “It's called a breakup because why? It's broken,” pointed out reader Spazzette. “Unless the reason you broke up has changed, you've already decided he didn't work for you once. Why not save your time and energy for a potentially way more awesome new guy?”

Yes! Thank you for helping me take off the rose-colored glasses when looking at my past relationships.

Don’t expect the total package right up front.

Am I perfect? Um, no, I think we’ve made that clear over the last couple years. So, maybe I should be cutting boys the same slack I hope to receive from them, per the advice of Sciencegirl474:

“Don't change who you are and don't ditch this guy because he went a little too far in a text,” she says. “Just make it clear what it is you actually like and want from a relationship and find a guy who cares about you enough to make an effort to make it all happen. You won't find someone who gets everything 100% right from the beginning.”

Listen to your intuition

No, I’m not talking about the voice that’s telling you to send 20 drunken texts to your ex-boyfriend. That voice is not a friend. The one you should be listening to is your kind, healthy self that guides you to the life you really want. User LoLove helped me realize this:

“Do what FEELS right. Take risks, even if they turn out awkward or wasted...in the big picture hardly anything is ever wasted if we learn from it or get at least some knowledge or experience from it, right?”

Smoky-eyes – specially in blue and green, olhos esfumaçados com sombras principalmente verde e azul.

Overhaul – inspeção

Major – principal maior

Sage – sábias

Way more – muito mais

To cut somebody some slack = to give someone additional freedom

10 tips to learn English

1. Speak without Fear

The biggest problem most people face in learning a new language is their own fear. They worry that they won’t say things correctly or that they will look stupid so they don’t talk at all. Don’t do this. The fastest way to learn anything is to do it –again and again , until you get it right. Like anything, learning English requires practice. Don’t let a little fear stop you from getting what you want.

2. Use all of your Resources

Even if you study English at a language school, it doesn’t mean you can’t learn outside of class. Using as many different sources, methods and tools as possible, will allow you to learn faster. There are many different ways you can improve your English, so don’t limit yourself to only one or two. The internet is a fantastic resource for virtually anything, but, for the language learner, it's perfect.

3. Surround Yourself with English

The absolute best way to learn English is to surround yourself with it. Take notes in English, put English books around your room, listen to English language radiobroadcasts, watch English news, movies and television. Speak English with your friends whenever you can. The more English material that you have around you, the faster you will learn and the more likely it is that you will begin “thinking in English.” .

4. Listen to Native Speakers as Much as Possible

There are some good English teachers that have had to learn English as a second language before they could teach it. However, there are several reasons why many of the best schools prefer to hire native English speakers. One of the reasons is that native speakers have a natural flow to their speech that students of Englishshould try to imitate. The closer students can get to this rhythm or flow, the more convincing and comfortable they will become.

5. Watch English Films and Television

This is not only a fun way to learn but it is also very effective. By watching English films (especially those with English subtitles) you can expand your vocabulary andhear the flow of speech from the actors. If you listen to the news you can also hear different accents.

6. Listen to English Music

Music can be a very effective method of learning English. In fact, it is often used as a way of improving comprehension. The best way to learn though, is to get thelyrics to the songs you are listening to and try to read them as the artist sings. There are several good internet sites where one can find the words for most songs. This way you can practice your listening and reading at the same time. And if you like to sing, fine.

7. Study As Often As Possible!

Only by studying things like grammar and vocabulary and doing exercises, can you really improve your knowledge of any language.

8. Do Exercises and Take Tests

Many people think that exercises and tests aren't much fun. However, by completing exercises and taking tests you can really improve your English. One of the best reasons for doing lots of exercises and tests is that they give you a benchmark to compare your future results with. Often, it is by comparing your score on a test you took yesterday with one you took a month or six months ago that you realize just how much you have learned. If you never test yourself, you will never know how much you are progressing.

9. Record Yourself

Nobody likes to hear their own voice on tape but like tests, it is good to compare your tapes from time to time. You may be so impressed with the progress you are making that you may not mind the sound of your voice as much.

10. Listen to English

By this, we mean, speak on the phone or listen to radio broadcasts, audiobooks or CDs in English. This is different than watching the television or films because you can’t see the person that is speaking to you. Many learners of English say that speaking on the phone is one of the most difficult things that they do and the only way to improve is to practice.

Steve Jobs

Acompanhe duas vezes o vídeo. Depois ouça e faça a leitura ao mesmo tempo, o texto transcrito está abaixo do vídeo. Depois estude o texto e seus aspectos linguísticos. No final existe uma lista com algumas palavras ou expressões utilizadas por Steve Jobs.

Steve Jobs

"I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, 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. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry.

Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much."

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Vocabulário:
Commencement – dia da formatura ou colação de grau

Drop-in - to visit or go to a place for only a brief period of time, often unexpectedly

Unwed – single ; not married

Relent – ceder por compaixão

Tuition – ensino instrução

Stumble into - meter-se em alguma coisa sem querer.

Turn out – tornou-se

Serif – serifa – traço fino projetando-se dos ângulos de uma letra.

Subtle – delicado – sutil

Gut- gíria Intuição – (intestino ao pé da letra)

Falling out – briga