In his famous 2005 Stanford commencement address, Steve Jobs said:

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.”

It’s a simple, powerful idea: even if you don’t understand how your present experiences will matter in the future, one day, looking back, you’ll see that they did. Every “dot” — each job, class, failure, or unexpected experience — is part of a bigger picture.

Small Decisions, Big Impact

Jobs shared how taking a calligraphy class — something that seemed irrelevant at the time — played a major role in the typography of the first Macintosh computer. He didn’t know it then, but that one choice made an impact years later.

Your life is full of those dots too:

• A random job you accepted
• A hobby you picked up “just for fun”
• A setback you didn’t see coming

You may not know what each one means right now — and that’s okay. Trust that one day, they’ll make sense.

How to Embrace the Process

Take note of meaningful moments. Keep track of experiences, skills, and people who influence you.
Reflect often. Every few months, take time to look back and see what patterns emerge.
Be open. Not every step has to be planned. Sometimes the dots that matter most are the ones you didn’t see coming.

Trust the Journey

Life doesn’t always move in a straight line, and that’s part of what makes it beautiful. You don’t have to have it all figured out today. Just keep showing up, stay curious, and give your future self something meaningful to look back on.

Because one day, looking back, you’ll realize: every dot really did connect.