My January 2006 article was devoted to the commencement speech offered at Stanford University by the late Steven Jobs, founder of Apple Computers. I addressed several of his main points, including his advising the graduates of the importance of “connecting the dots looking backwards.” He noted, “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.” I explained my interpretation of Jobs’ viewpoint, noting that as we experience different events in our lives some may seem important and some may not at the time they occur, but at some point we will come to recognize that if these events had not transpired, we might not be who we are today—that in fact they play a noteworthy role in deciding our trajectory in life. As an example, I shared how when I was considering switching my major to psychology following my junior year in college, an invitation by John Bauer, one of my psychology professors, changed my life. John asked me to join him for lunch to discuss majoring in psychology. I would have been happy to have a half-hour with John, but…
