How to stay foolish, and my emotional sense of smell

Tonight I read a copy of a commencement speech given by Steve Jobs.  In it he referenced The Whole Earth Catalog, a publication I had quite frankly never heard of.  He desribes the back cover of an issue in the 70's as having a photo of the open road with the quote "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish."  His description of it, and the way he used this quote to sum up his own philosophy of the importance of following your passion left me with the overwhelming need to see this image.

Digital archiving and the internet to the rescue.  It was odd scrolling the pages with listings so diverse I won't even try to describe them, you'll have to experience it for yourself.  The odd part was I suddenly smelled old books.  Just looking at the typewriter typeface and the microfiche-y edges to the scans made me think of something that has been around longer than me.  Not much longer, the issue with the image I was hunting for was from 1971, but still old enough to have that musty-pile-of-magazines-in-the-back-room smell.  I have always found old books to hold immediate appeal, and many of my most 'new' ideas or revelation causing works have been stumbled upon in titles no longer in print.

The catalog itself is not profound.  Ambitious and unique for its time I read, but fun more than anything.  Something I never would have found if not for the Steve Jobs speech being provided as a piece for potential reflection.


The image is grainy and reminds me of my parents pre-kids polaroid photo albums, full of slightly unrealistic colors and adventures they kissed goodbye when I was born.

But back to the tagline, Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.  According to Jobs it refers to living your life and not being trapped by the thinking of others, of boldly doing and trusting that it will all work out in the end.  How can I 'stay foolish' when I have spent my whole life fearing making the wrong choices, or of being selfish in a way that would threaten my security or that of my family.  Can a person intentionally learn to 'be' foolish? 

I'm not saying I haven't made stupid choices, but that's not what it's about.  Foolish in this context is perhaps better defined as doing what the world might deem stupid or inappropriate, but doing it anyway because it is right for you.  Which brings me back to the question I have had since beginning the Journey program, what is right/important for me?  Reflection so far has only pointed out what is not.