Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life's setbacks -- including death itself -- at the university's 114th Commencement on June 12, 2005.
Thank you. I'm honored to be with you today for your commencement from one of the finest universities in
the world. Truth be told, I never graduated from college and this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college
graduation.
the world. Truth be told, I never graduated from college and 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. The first story is
about connecting the dots.
about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first six months but then stayed aroundas a drop-in for another eighteen months or so before I really quit. So why didI drop out? It started before I was born. My biological mother was
a young, unwed graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife, except that when I poppedout, they decided at 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've got an unexpected baby boy. Do
you want him?" They said, "Of course." My biological mother found out later that my mother had never
graduated from collegeand 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 would go to college.
a young, unwed graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife, except that when I poppedout, they decided at 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've got an unexpected baby boy. Do
you want him?" They said, "Of course." My biological mother found out later that my mother had never
graduated from collegeand 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 would go to college.
This was the start in my life. And seventeen years later, I did go to college, but I naÃ‾vely 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
of how college was going to help me figure it out, and here I was, spending all the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time,
but looking back, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Theminute I dropped out, I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me and begin dropping in on the ones that looked far more interesting.
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
of how college was going to help me figure it out, and here I was, spending all the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time,
but looking back, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Theminute I dropped out, I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me and begin dropping in on the ones that looked far more interesting.
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 five-cent deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the seven miles across 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 lateron. Let me give you one example.
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 lateron. Let me give you one 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 takethe normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned
about serif and sans-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.
didn't have to takethe normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned
about serif and sans-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.
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 backto 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, theMac would have never
had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts, andsince Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them.
the first Macintosh computer, it all came backto 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, theMac would have never
had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts, andsince Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them.
If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on that calligraphy class and personals computers
might not have the wonderful typography that they do have today.
might not have the wonderful typography that they do have today.
Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college, but it was very, very
clear looking backwards 10 years later. Again, youcan'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. Youhave to
trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever--because believing that the dots will connect down
the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and
that will make all the difference.
clear looking backwards 10 years later. Again, youcan'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. Youhave to
trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever--because believing that the dots will connect down
the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and
that will make all the difference.
My second story is about love and loss. I was lucky. I found what I loved to doearly in life. Woz and I started
Apple in my parents' garage when I was twenty.We worked hard and in ten years, Apple had grown from just
the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4,000 employees. We'd just released ourfinest creation, the Macintosh, a year earlier, and I'd just turned thirty, andthen 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, and so at thirty,
I was out, and very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.
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 toapologize 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 onebit.
I'd been rejected but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
Apple in my parents' garage when I was twenty.We worked hard and in ten years, Apple had grown from just
the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4,000 employees. We'd just released ourfinest creation, the Macintosh, a year earlier, and I'd just turned thirty, andthen 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, and so at thirty,
I was out, and very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.
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 toapologize 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 onebit.
I'd been rejected but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successfulwas replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods 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 would become my wife. Pixar went on tocreate the world's first computer-animated feature film, "Toy Story,"
and is nowthe most successful animation studio in the world.
I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on tocreate the world's first computer-animated feature film, "Toy Story,"
and is nowthe most successful animation studio in the world.
In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT and I returned to Apple and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance, and Lorene and I have a wonderful family together.
I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful-tasting
medicine but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life's going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convincedthat the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've gotto find what
you love, and that is as true for 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 trulysatisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do greatwork
is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, and 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. Don't settle.
medicine but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life's going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convincedthat the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've gotto find what
you love, and that is as true for 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 trulysatisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do greatwork
is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, and 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. Don't settle.
My third story is about 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, would I want to
do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I
know I need to change something.
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, would I want to
do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I
know I need to change something.
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.
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.
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 should expect 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.
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 should expect 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.
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.
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.
This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the 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:
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:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don'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 should be, because Death is very likely
the single best invention 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.
the single best invention 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
they put out a final issue. It was the 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.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Thank you all very much.