Apple CEO Steve Jobs ' speech at Stanford University graduation ceremony

Apple CEO Steve Jobs ' speech at Stanford University graduation ceremony
Absrtact: This is the speech of Apple CEO Steve Jobs at Stanford University graduation ceremony in 2005, he went through college on his way to school, start-up, dismissal, comeback, death threats. Managing your own unique life begins with knowing someone else's experience. The following are the original and translated versions of English:
Tag: English speech
The text of the commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, Delivere D on June 12, 2005.

I am honored to is with your 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.

I am honored to join you in this graduation ceremony of one of the best universities in the world. I did not graduate from college, to tell the truth, this is my first graduation from the university so close. Today, I want to tell you three stories of my own, no other, no sermon, just three stories.

The first story was about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, and then stayed around as a drop-in for another months Fore I really quit. So, did I drop out?

The first story is about the relationship between points and points. I dropped out of Reed College (Reed College) after only six months, then I was in the school, and after about 1.5, I left completely. So why did I drop out of school?

It started before I was born. My biological mother is a young, unwed College graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should being adopted by college graduates, so everything is all set for me to being adopted at BI Rth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that if I popped out they decided on 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 had an unexpected baby boy; Do you want him? " They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out this my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduate D from high School. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She is relented a few months later when my parents promised the I would someday go to college.

This has to be told before I was born. My biological mother was a young unmarried graduate student, and she decided to give me to someone for adoption. She was very keen to adopt me as a university graduate, so I arranged everything, and I was born to a couple of lawyers to adopt them. Unexpectedly I landed in the grabbing room, the couple decided to adopt a girl. In this way, my adoptive parents--who were still waiting in line on the register--after midnight received a call: "We have a baby boy that nobody wants, do you?" "Of course," they answered. However, my biological mother later found out that my adoptive mother was not a college graduate, and that my adoptive father did not even graduate from high school, so she refused to sign the final adoption document. However, in a few months she relented, because my adoptive parents promised to send me to college in the future.

and years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college is 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 does with my life and no idea how college is going to help me figure it out. And here I am spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to the drop out and trust the it would all work out OK. It is pretty scary at the time, but looking back it is 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 Es that looked interesting.

17 years later, I really went to college. I was naïve enough to choose a school that was almost as expensive as Stanford, when the workers ' adoptive parents gave me all their savings to pay for college tuition. After six months of reading, I can't see what it means to go to school. I don't know what I want to do in my life, and I don't know if college can help me figure out what I want to do. At this time, I will spend all my parents saved money for a lifetime. So I decided to drop out of school and I was convinced that I was doing the right thing in the future. The decision was made in the heart of the drums, but now in retrospect, this is really one of the best decisions I have ever made. From the moment I dropped out of school, I was able to stop choosing the required courses that I didn't have any interest in, and started listening to some seemingly interesting classes.

It wasn ' t all romantic. I didn ' t has a dorm, so I slept on the floor in Friends ' rooms, I returned Coke bottles for the 5 deposits to buy fo Od with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna Templ E. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned off to being priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Those days are not romantic at all. I don't have a dorm, I can only sleep on the floor of a friend's room. I'll return the Coke bottle and use the deposit of five cents to buy food. Every Sunday night I walk seven miles to the Helkorischner chapel in the city and eat a meal once a week. I like that. Many of these things that I have done with curiosity and intuition have proved to be priceless later on. Let me give you an example:

Reed College at this 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 has to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how T o do this. I learned about serif and San serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, AB What makes great typography great. It is beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a-a-on-the-it-science can ' t capture, and I found it fascinating.

At that time, Reed College's calligraphy class was probably the best in the country. All the bulletin boards on campus and the words on each drawer label are beautifully written. I had dropped out of school and didn't have a normal class, so I decided to take a calligraphy class and learn how to write good words. I learned to write a printed font with short cut lines and no short cut lines, adjust their spacing according to different letter combinations, and how to adjust the layout well. This course is so great, both historical and artistic, that science cannot be done, and I think it is wonderful.

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 is the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on this single course in college, the MAC would has never had multiple typefaces or Proportiona lly spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the MAC, its likely that no personal computer would has them. If I had never dropped out, I would has never dropped on the This calligraphy class, and personal computers might not having The wonderful typography that they does. Of course it is impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I am in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

At that time, I did not expect calligraphy to have any practical value in future life. But ten years later, when we were designing our first Macintosh computer, it suddenly appeared to me. So, we put all of these things into the computer. This is the first computer to have such a beautiful text layout. If I had not chosen such a course at the university, Macintosh computers would never have had a reasonable font size for printing fonts or spacing. But for Windows to copy the Macintosh, personal computers might not have these fonts and sizes. I would never have chosen this calligraphy class if I had not retired, and the personal computer might not have the beautiful layout now. Of course, I can't see it in college at this point in relation to the future. Looking back a decade later, the relationship between the two is very, very clear.

Again, you can ' t connect the dots looking forward; You can only connect them looking backwards. So you had to trust that the dots would somehow connect in your. Something-your Gut, Destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach had never let me down, and it had made all the difference in my life.

It is also impossible for you to see the future from this point, but only when you look back will you find the relationship between them. So, believe that these points will be connected to each other sooner or later. You have to rely on something-intuition, destiny, life, karma, and so on. It never failed my hopes, and it completely changed my life.

My second story was 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 if I was 20. We worked hard, and in years Apple had grown from just the both of us in a garage into a $ billion company with over 40 XX 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 I get fired from a company started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought is very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or So things went well. The began to diverge and eventually we had a falling visions. When we do, our Board of directors sided with him. So at is out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life is gone, and it was devastating.

My second story is about likes and dislikes and gains and losses. Luckily, I found out what I liked to do when I was very young. I started Apple in my parents ' garage when I was 20 years old and Woz, one of Apple's founders, Wozon's nickname. We worked very hard, and ten years later, Apple went from the garage to the two of us who developed into a large enterprise with 2 billion yuan assets and 4,000 employees. At that time, we had just launched our best product--macintosh computer--that was in the 9th year, I just turned 30 years old. But then, I was fired. How did you get fired from your own company? So, as Apple gets bigger, we hire someone I think is very talented to run the company with me. In the first year, everything went well. But then we began to disagree about the company's future, and we ended up with each other. At this time, the board of directors on his side, so at the age of 30, I left the company, and this incident has been a matter of uproar. The whole life of my manhood was gone, and it made me exhausted.

I really didn ' t know what does for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs Down-that I had dropped the baton as it is 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 on 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 isn't changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I am still in love. And so I decided to start over.

For a couple of months, I really don't know what to do. I felt I had lost my face to the older generation of entrepreneurs because I threw away the baton that I had handed to my own hands. I went to see Davi Pakade (David Packard, one of Hewlett-Packard's founders) and Bobnois (Bob Noyce, one of Intel's creators) to apologize for making things so bad. The failure was so noisy that I even thought about escaping from Silicon Valley. But, gradually, I began to have an idea-I still love what I did in the past. The turmoil at Apple has not changed that. Although I was rejected, I still love my career. So I decided to start from scratch.

I didn ' t see it so, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple is the best thing that could has 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 more creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named Next, another company named Pixar, and fell Woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy stories, and is now the most successful Animati On studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT are at the H Eart of Apple ' s current renaissance. and Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

Although I didn't realize it at the time, it turned out that being fired by Apple was the best thing that ever happened to me in my life. Although the outlook is uncertain, the sense of ease from the beginning has replaced the heaviness of sustaining success. This led me into one of the most creative periods of my life. In the five years that followed, I opened a company named NeXT and a company called Pixar, and I fell in love with a great woman and married her. The company has launched the world's first computer-made cartoon Toy Story, Toy, which is now the world's most successful animation studio. When Apple bought next, I went back to Apple, and the technology we developed at Next was the core of the company's resurgence. I and Lorena (Laurene) also established a happy family.

I ' m pretty sure none of this would has happened if I hadn ' t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits your head with a brick. Don ' t lose faith. I ' m convinced that's the only thing that kept me going is that I loved what I did. You've got to find. And that's as true for your work as it's for your lovers. Your work was going to fill a large part of Your life, and the-only-to-be truly satisfied-is-to-do-you-believe is Great work. And the only-the-to-do great work are to love. If you haven ' t found it yet, keep looking. Don ' t settle. As with any 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.

I'm sure it's never going to happen if I'm not fired by Apple. This is a bitter medicine, but I think the bitter medicine is beneficial to the disease. Sometimes life will give you a good, but don't lose heart. I believe that the only strength that indomitable me is that I love what I do. So, be sure to know what you like, choose your lover, and choose to work the same way. Work will be a large part of life, the only way to make yourself truly satisfied is to do what you think is meaningful, and the only way to do meaningful work is to love your work. If you haven't found what you like, keep looking and don't rush to make a decision. Just like everything you do with the feeling, once you find something you like, it will tell you. Just like any kind of wonderful thing, timeless. So, keep looking, until you find something you like. Don't give up halfway.

My third story was about death.

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

My third story is about death. When I was 17 years old, I read such a passage to the effect that: "If every day as the last day of life, one day you will get it." "I remember this sentence, and since then, 33 years later, every morning I asked myself in the mirror," If today is the last day of life, will I do what I have to do today? " "If my answer was" no "for many days, I knew I should have changed.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon are the most important tool I ' ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in Lif E. Because almost everything-all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or Failure-these things J UST fall away in the "face of death, leaving" is truly important. Remembering that's going to die was the best-of-the-know to avoid the trap of thinking you had something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

The most important way for me to make a big choice in life is to remember that life can end at any moment. For almost everything-all the desires, all the dignity, all the fear of embarrassment and failure-will cease to exist in death, leaving only what is really important. Remembering that you will die at any time is the best way I know to prevent it. You have nothing left, why don't you go with your feelings?

About a year ago I is diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn ' t even know what a pancreas is. The doctors told me this be almost certainly a type of cancer that's incurable, and that I should expect to live no long Er 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 and tell your kids everything your thought you ' d has the next years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything are buttoned up so that it'll be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with this diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach into my intestines, PU t a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who is there, told me, when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started Crying because it turned out to being a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that's curable with surgery. I had the surgery and, thankfully, I ' M fine now.

A year ago, I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a CT scan at 7:30 A.M. and a tumor was clearly present in the pancreas, and I didn't even know what the pancreas was. The doctor told me that it was almost certain to be an incurable disease, I probably could not live to be 3-6 months. The doctor advised me to go home and get together with my family, which is the doctor's standard advice on dying patients. That means you have to try to finish what you want to say to your child in the next ten years in a few months. That means you have to get everything done and your family will be as relaxed as possible. That means you have to say goodbye to people. I thought about the diagnosis all day, and that night I made a slice, and I reached into an endoscope from my throat, into my intestines from my stomach, inserted a needle into the pancreas, and took some tumor cells out. I was sedated, I didn't wake up, but my wife was there. She later told me that when the doctors looked at the cells with a microscope, they all cried because it was a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that could be cured with surgery. So I took the surgery and got better.

This is the closest I ' ve been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Have lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death is a useful but purely Intel Lectual Concept:no one wants to die. Even people want to go to Heaven don ' t want to die to get there. And yet death are the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that's as it should be, because death are very likely the single best invention of life. It ' s life's change agent. It clears out of the old to make-to-the-new. Right now the new are you, but someday isn't too long from now, you'll gradually become the old and being cleared away. Sorry to is so dramatic, but it's quite true.

This is when I was closest to death, and I hope that will continue to be the closest in the next few 10 years. After this, I can be more certain to tell you the following than before death is an abstract concept:

No one wants to die. Even those who want to be in heaven want to live in heaven. But death is our common destination, and no one can escape. This is doomed, because death is simply the best invention in life, is the medium of life change, send away the old people, leave space for the new generation. Now you are the new generation, but in the near future, you will gradually grow old and be sent out of the stage of life. I'm sorry to be so dramatic, but it's true.

Your time is limited, so don ' t waste it living someone else ' s life. Don ' t being trapped by dogma--which are 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, with the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what the truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Your time is limited, so don't waste your time living in someone else's life. Do not be confused by Creed-the faith in obedience is living in the results of others ' thinking. Don't let others ' opinions drown out your inner voice. Most importantly, having the courage to follow your heart and intuition, your gut and intuition know how much you really want to be. Any other thing is secondary.

When I am young, there is an amazing publication called the Whole Earth Catalog, which is one of the "Bibles" of my Gen Eration. It is created by a fellow named Stewart Brand does far from the here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic Touch. This is in the late 60s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it is all made with typewriters, scissors, and Polaroid cameras. It was the sort of like Google in paperback form, years before Google came along. It is idealistic, overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

When I was young, there was this amazing magazine called "Whole Earth Catalog", and we were fascinated by the magazine. It was published by Stewart Brand, who lived not far from Menlo Park, who made the magazine very poetic. It was the end of the 1960, when personal computers and tables were not invented, and everything was made out of typewriters, scissors, and cameras. The magazine content is a bit like Google on paper, 35 years before Google appeared: idealized, full of novelty tools and magical notes.

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 am your age. On the back cover of their final issue is 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 ' ve always wished this for myself. And now, as your graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

Thank all very much.

Stewart and his publishing team made several "Whole Earth Catalog", and then out of the number. It was the middle of the 1970, and I was your age now. On the back cover of the suspension, there is a picture of the morning Country Road, the country path that you will pass when you climb the mountain. There is a fine print under the photo: If you are hungry, be foolish. It was a farewell message written by them, and I always made it my own. When you graduate and start a new life, I hope you will.

If you are hungry for knowledge, be foolish in modesty.
　　
Thank you very much.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs ' speech at Stanford University graduation ceremony