By Katie Zee
June 15, 2005
Stanford Daily
Steve Jobs’ commencement speech today encouraged Stanford graduates to stick to what they love, no matter what.
Jobs expressed that he wants graduates to know that they do not have to settle when it comes to the important things in life. Whether it be love or work, he believes that everyone should follow their heart because life is too short not to.
A cancer diagnosis shook Jobs’ world about a year ago. This made him think about the very real possibility that he could be dead within a few months.
The lesson that he gave graduates from this experience is that they should spend their limited time living their own lives, not someone else’s. He explained that death is the motivator for living, saying that “Death is very likely the single best invention of Life.”
Jobs struggled with pancreatic cancer resulting from a tumor in that area. Doctors estimated that he had a maximum life expectancy of a mere six months.
Luckily, later in the day of the diagnosis, a biopsy that brought doctors to tears revealed that Jobs could be cured. He had a surgery to remove the tumor, and Jobs remains cancer free today.
Jobs also explains that his success and happiness stem from quitting what wasn’t working and following his passion, even if it meant being a little unconventional.
The 50-year-old inventor and businessman admitted that “getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened”. That was because it gave him the ambition to start the companies NeXT and Pixar, and to meet his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs.
According to Jobs, faith gives people the confidence to accomplish their goals. Although he was devastated when the news broke that he would no longer be working at the company that he and his good friend built from the ground up, Jobs has had time to develop hindsight.
He refers to this hindsight as “connecting the dots.” He tells the graduates that they would benefit from trusting that everything will work out for the best, just as it has worked out for him.
Jobs tells the story of growing up in the working class, dropping out of college, and effectively being homeless. During this time, he peeked into classrooms to find what was interesting to him; that turned out to be calligraphy.
It was an unlikely passion of his, but it led to the Mac having multiple typefaces and proportionally spaced fonts. Jobs cheekily adds that “since Windows just copied the Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them.”
Jobs is now back at Apple Computer Inc., which has been around for nearly 30 years. During that time, the company has created the Macintosh and the iPod, which have been revolutionary in the technology market.
Additionally, Jobs created NeXT Inc., a software company that has since merged with Apple when he rejoined the company. Jobs founded Pixar as well, which is the creator of the first computer animated film, “Toy Story.”
Jobs ended the commencement speech with the words that often reminded him to keep going in the search for what he loves and to never think that there is not more to be learned. “Stay hungry. Stay foolish,” he said.
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