You must find what you love

You must find what you love

I was touched by the speech of jobs.

 

This is the text of the commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12,200 5.

The following is a graduation speech by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple and Pixar, at Stanford University in June 12, 2005.

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.

I am honored to be with you at the graduation ceremony of one of the best universities in the world today. I have never graduated from college. to be honest, today may be the last day I graduated from college in my life. today I want to tell you three stories in my life. it's not a big deal. It's just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

The first story is about connecting points in life.

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?

I dropped out after six months at Reed University, but before I decided to drop out, I often went to school. Why should 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 shoshould be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. when t that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. so my parents, W Ho 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 wowould someday go to college.

The story begins when I was born. my biological mother is a young, unmarried college graduate. she decided to let others adopt me, and she wanted me to be adopted by college graduates. so when I was born, she had prepared for my adoption by a lawyer and his wife. but she didn't expect that when I was born, the lawyers and couples suddenly decided they wanted a girl. so my parents, who were still on my bio-sense parents list, suddenly received a call in the middle of the night: "We have a baby boy who was accidentally born here. Do you want him?" They replied: "Of course" but my biological mother later found that my mother had never graduated from college, and my father had never graduated from high school. she refused to sign the adoption contract. it was just a few months later that my parents promised that she had to let me go to college. At that time, she agreed.

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 wowould 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 cocould stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

At the age of seventeen, I really went to college. but I chose a school that is almost as expensive as your Stanford University. All my blue-collar parents' savings are spent on my tuition. after six months, I could not see the value. I don't know what I want to do in my life, and I don't know how college can help me find the answer to this question. but here I spent almost all my parents' savings in my life. so I decided to drop out of school. I think this is a correct decision. I can't deny that I was really scared at the time, but now I look back, it is indeed the best decision in my life. at the moment I decided to drop out of school, I finally don't have to go to those courses that I don't have any interest in. then I can go to some seemingly interesting courses.

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 rows deposits to buy food, and I wocould walk the 7 miles into SS 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:

But this is not so romantic. I lost my dormitory, so I could only go to bed on the floor of my friend's room. I went to pick up a 5-hour cola bottle just for dinner. On Sunday evening, I can walk seven miles through the city to Hare Krishna temple, just to eat the only good meal this week. but I like it. I followed my intuition and curiosity and met many things that proved invaluable later. let me give you an 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.

At that time, Reed University provided perhaps the best art and character courses in the United States. every poster in this university, and all the labels in each drawer are beautiful art words. because I dropped out of school and didn't receive formal training, I decided to take this course to learn how to write beautiful art words. I learned about the san serif and serif fonts, how to change the length of spaces in different letter combinations, and how to make the best print style. it is a kind of beautiful, real, and exquisite art that science can never capture. I found that it is really 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 was the first computer with beautiful typography. if I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac wocould have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. and since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer wowould have them. if I had never dropped out, I wowould 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.

At that time, it seems that these things have no practical application in my life. but ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, that was not the case. I designed all the guys I learned into Mac. it was the first computer with a beautiful print style. if I did not drop out of school at the time, I would not have the opportunity to attend this art and text course that I am interested in. Mac would not have the right space between so many fonts and fonts. so now personal computers will not have such a wonderful Print Style. of course, it is impossible for me to look forward to connecting these points when I am still in college, but when I look back ten years later, I am very, very clear.

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.

Again, you cannot associate these points when looking forward. You can only associate them when looking back. therefore, you must believe that these points will be linked one day in the future. you must believe in something, your courage, purpose, life, and karma. this process will never let me down, but make my life more distinctive.

My second story is about love and loss.

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 am very lucky because I found what I love very early. woz and I started apple in my parents' garage when I was 20 years old. we have worked very hard. Ten years later, this company has grown from only two poor people in the garage to a large company with more than four thousand employees and worth more than 2 billion. the year before that, we just released our best product, the Macintosh. I am about to be thirty years old. at that time, I was fired. how can you be fired from a company you created? Well, during Apple's development, we hired a talented guy to manage the company with me. In the first few years, the company was operating very well. however, our views on the future were different, and we finally quarrelled. when the quarrel occurred, the board of directors stood on his side. so at the age of thirty, I was fired. I was fired under the eyes of so many people. the focus of my life in my adulthood is off, which is a devastating blow.

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 did not know what to do in the first few months. I lost the baton that I had previously handed over to my entrepreneurs. I felt that I had frustrated the entrepreneurs of that generation. I met Bob Boyce with David Pack and tried to apologize to them. I made things so bad. but I gradually discovered the dawn, and I still love these things. what happened to Apple did not change this at all, nor did it change a bit. I was evicted, but I am still in love. so I decided to start from scratch.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that cocould 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.

I didn't see it at the time, but it turned out that Apple was the best thing in my life. the bliss of being a winner is replaced by the lightness of being a new entrepreneur: not so certain about anything. this made me feel so free to enter the most creative stage in 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 wowould 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 retuned 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.

In the next five years, I created a company named next and a company named Pixar. Then I met a wonderful woman who was about to become my wife. pixar made the world's first computer-made animated film, "Toy Story". It is now the most successful studio in the world. in a series of subsequent changes, Apple acquired next, and then I went back to Apple. the technology we developed at next plays an important role in Apple's revival. I also had a wonderful family with Laurence.

I'm pretty sure none of this wowould 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.

I'm sure that none of these will happen if I don't get fired from Apple. this medicine tastes so bitter, but I think the patient needs it. sometimes, life will pick up a piece of turn to your head. do not lose confidence. I know that the only thing that keeps me going is what I love what I do. you need to find what you love. this is true for work and for your lover. your work will be a huge part of your life. only by believing that you are doing great work can you satisfy your needs. if you haven't found it yet, continue searching. don't stop. find it with all your heart and you will know it when you find it. just like any great relationship, as time passes, it will only get better and better. so keep searching until you find it. don't stop.

My third story is about death.

My third story is like 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, wocould I want to do what I am about to do today? "And whenever the answer has been" no "for too due days in a row, I know I need to change something.

When I was 17 years old, I read a sentence like this: "If you treat every day as your last day, then one day you will find that you are correct. "This sentence left a deep impression on me. after 33 years, I looked at myself in the mirror every morning and asked myself, "If today is the last day of my life, will you finish what you want to do today ". when the answer is "no" many times in a row, I know that I need to change some things.

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.

Remember that I will die soon, which is the most important tool I have ever encountered. he helped me make important choices for birth hits. because almost everything, including external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment and failure, will disappear before death. let me see what really matters. you sometimes think that you will lose something, and remember that you will die, which is the best way I know to avoid these ideas. you are naked, and you have no reason not to follow your own 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 shoshould have CT 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.

About a year ago, I was diagnosed with cancer. I performed a check at half past seven a.m. and the check clearly showed that there was a tumor in my pancreas. I didn't know what the pancreas was. the doctor told me that it is probably an irreparable cancer. I still have three to six months to live in this world. my doctor told me to go home and sort out everything, that is, the procedure for the doctor to prepare for death. that means you will talk about what you say to your child over the next decade in a few months. that means everything is done, so that your family can live as easily as possible, which means you have to say Byebye.

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.

I live with that diagnosis all day. then one morning I made a live slice check. the doctor took an endoscope from my throat, through my stomach, and then into my intestines, with a needle taking several cells on the tumor on my pancreas. I was very calm at the time, because I was served with a stabilizer but my wife was there and told me that they started to scream when the doctor observed these cells under the microscope, these cells are eventually a rare pancreatic cancer that can be cured with surgery. I had this operation, and now I'm done.

This was the closest I 've been to facing death, And I hope its 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:

That was the time when I was the closest to death, and I also hoped that it would be the closest in the next few decades. I have lived from it, so I can say to you more surely, I am more certain to you than death is a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. even people who want to go to heavendon'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 shocould be, because death is very likely the single best choice 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.

No one is willing to die, even if they want to go to heaven, they will not die to go there. but death is the end point of all of us. no one ever escaped it. this is also the case. because death is the best invention in life. he clears the old one to give way to the new one. you are new now, but soon after, you will gradually become old and then be cleared. i'm sorry this is dramatic, but it's very real.

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.

You have limited time, so don't waste them on others' lives. don't be bound by dogma, it means you will live with the results of others' thoughts. do not mask your true inner voice with the noise of others' opinions. the most important thing is that you have the courage to follow your intuition and instructions. they know to some extent what you want to be. all other things are the second.

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.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication named "the entire Earth's directory", one of the Bibles of our generation. it was written by a guy named Stewart Brand in Menlo Park not far from here. His Poems generally bring this book to this world. that was in the late 1960s s, before the advent of personal computers, so this book was made with typewriter, scissors, and mirrors. A little like Google wrapped in soft skins, thirty-five years before Google's appearance: This is an idealistic place with many clever tools and great ideas.

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 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.

Stewart and his partners published several issues of the entire Earth's catalog, and when it completed its mission, they made the final catalog. that was in the middle of 1970s, your time. on the back of the last issue, take a photo of the Country Road in the early morning. If you are adventurous, you can find the path on your own. in the photo, there is a saying: "Keep hungry, keep stupid ". this is their farewell to the release. keep hungry and stupid. I always hope that I can do that. Now, when you are about to start a new journey after graduation, I also hope that you will do the same.

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

Keep hungry and stupid.

 

 

 

You must find what you love