beautifullyneverletmego

dvertisementhttp://www.
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com/fdcpunique=1318442817128SteveJobs:Textofhis2005StanfordUniversitycommencementspeechMercuryNewsPosted:10/08/201105:37:35PMPDTUpdated:10/10/201108:02:22AMPDTThisisapreparedtextoftheStanfordUniversitycommencementaddressdeliveredbySteveJobs,thentheCEOofAppleandPixarAnimationStudios,onJune12,2005.
Iamhonoredtobewithyoutodayatyourcommencementfromoneofthenestuniversitiesintheworld.
Inevergraduatedfromcollege.
Truthbetold,thisistheclosestI'veevergottentoacollegegraduation.
TodayIwanttotellyouthreestoriesfrommylife.
That'sit.
Nobigdeal.
Justthreestories.
Therststoryisaboutconnectingthedots.
IdroppedoutofReedCollegeaftertherst6months,butthenstayedaroundasadrop-inforanother18monthsorsobeforeIreallyquit.
SowhydidIdropoutItstartedbeforeIwasborn.
Mybiologicalmotherwasayoung,unwedcollegegraduatestudent,andshedecidedtoputmeupforadoption.
ShefeltverystronglythatIshouldbeadoptedbycollegegraduates,soeverythingwasallsetformetobeadoptedatbirthbyalawyerandhiswife.
ExceptthatwhenIpoppedouttheydecidedatthelastminutethattheyreallywantedagirl.
Somyparents,whowereonawaitinglist,gotacallinthemiddleofthenightasking:"Wehaveanunexpectedbabyboy;doyouwanthim"Theysaid:"Ofcourse.
"Mybiologicalmotherlaterfoundoutthatmymotherhadnevergraduatedfromcollegeandthatmyfatherhadnevergraduatedfromhighschool.
Sherefusedtosignthenaladoptionpapers.
SheonlyrelentedafewmonthslaterwhenmyparentspromisedthatIwouldsomedaygotocollege.
And17yearslaterIdidgotocollege.
ButInaivelychoseacollegethatwasalmostasexpensiveasStanford,andallofmyworking-classparents'savingswerebeingspentonmycollegetuition.
Aftersixmonths,Icouldn'tseethevalueinit.
IhadnoideawhatIwantedtodowithmylifeandnoideahowcollegewasgoingtohelpmegureitout.
AndhereIwasspendingallofthemoneymyparentshadsavedtheirentirelife.
SoIdecidedtodropoutandtrustthatitwouldallworkoutOK.
Itwasprettyscaryatthetime,butlookingbackitwasoneofthebestdecisionsIevermade.
TheminuteIdroppedoutIcouldstoptakingtherequiredclassesthatdidn'tinterestme,andbegindroppinginontheonesthatlookedinteresting.
Itwasn'tallromantic.
Ididn'thaveadormroom,soIsleptontheoorinfriends'rooms,Ireturnedcokebottlesforthe5depositstobuyfoodwith,andIwouldwalkthe7milesacrosstowneverySundaynighttogetonegoodmealaweekattheHareKrishnatemple.
Ilovedit.
AndmuchofwhatIstumbledintobyfollowingmycuriosityandintuitionturnedouttobepricelesslateron.
Letmegiveyouoneexample:ReedCollegeatthattimeofferedperhapsthebestcalligraphyinstructioninthecountry.
Throughoutthecampuseveryposter,everylabeloneverydrawer,wasbeautifullyhandcalligraphed.
BecauseIhaddroppedoutanddidn'thavetotakethenormalclasses,Idecidedtotakeacalligraphyclasstolearnhowtodothis.
Ilearnedaboutserifandsanserifa1of410/12/112:07PMdvertisementhttp://www.
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com/fdcpunique=1318442817128typefaces,aboutvaryingtheamountofspacebetweendifferentlettercombinations,aboutwhatmakesgreattypographygreat.
Itwasbeautiful,historical,artisticallysubtleinawaythatsciencecan'tcapture,andIfounditfascinating.
Noneofthishadevenahopeofanypracticalapplicationinmylife.
Buttenyearslater,whenweweredesigningtherstMacintoshcomputer,itallcamebacktome.
AndwedesigneditallintotheMac.
Itwastherstcomputerwithbeautifultypography.
IfIhadneverdroppedinonthatsinglecourseincollege,theMacwouldhaveneverhadmultipletypefacesorproportionallyspacedfonts.
AndsinceWindowsjustcopiedtheMac,it'slikelythatnopersonalcomputerwouldhavethem.
IfIhadneverdroppedout,Iwouldhaveneverdroppedinonthiscalligraphyclass,andpersonalcomputersmightnothavethewonderfultypographythattheydo.
OfcourseitwasimpossibletoconnectthedotslookingforwardwhenIwasincollege.
Butitwasvery,veryclearlookingbackwardstenyearslater.
Again,youcan'tconnectthedotslookingforward;youcanonlyconnectthemlookingbackwards.
Soyouhavetotrustthatthedotswillsomehowconnectinyourfuture.
Youhavetotrustinsomething--yourgut,destiny,life,karma,whatever.
Thisapproachhasneverletmedown,andithasmadeallthedifferenceinmylife.
Mysecondstoryisaboutloveandloss.
Iwaslucky--IfoundwhatIlovedtodoearlyinlife.
WozandIstartedAppleinmyparentsgaragewhenIwas20.
Weworkedhard,andin10yearsApplehadgrownfromjustthetwoofusinagarageintoa$2billioncompanywithover4000employees.
Wehadjustreleasedournestcreation--theMacintosh--ayearearlier,andIhadjustturned30.
AndthenIgotred.
HowcanyougetredfromacompanyyoustartedWell,asApplegrewwehiredsomeonewhoIthoughtwasverytalentedtorunthecompanywithme,andfortherstyearorsothingswentwell.
Butthenourvisionsofthefuturebegantodivergeandeventuallywehadafallingout.
Whenwedid,ourBoardofDirectorssidedwithhim.
Soat30Iwasout.
Andverypubliclyout.
Whathadbeenthefocusofmyentireadultlifewasgone,anditwasdevastating.
Ireallydidn'tknowwhattodoforafewmonths.
IfeltthatIhadletthepreviousgenerationofentrepreneursdown-thatIhaddroppedthebatonasitwasbeingpassedtome.
ImetwithDavidPackardandBobNoyceandtriedtoapologizeforscrewingupsobadly.
Iwasaverypublicfailure,andIeventhoughtaboutrunningawayfromthevalley.
Butsomethingslowlybegantodawnonme--IstilllovedwhatIdid.
TheturnofeventsatApplehadnotchangedthatonebit.
Ihadbeenrejected,butIwasstillinlove.
AndsoIdecidedtostartover.
Ididn'tseeitthen,butitturnedoutthatgettingredfromApplewasthebestthingthatcouldhaveeverhappenedtome.
Theheavinessofbeingsuccessfulwasreplacedbythelightnessofbeingabeginneragain,lesssureabouteverything.
Itfreedmetoenteroneofthemostcreativeperiodsofmylife.
Duringthenextveyears,IstartedacompanynamedNeXT,anothercompanynamedPixar,andfellinlovewithanamazingwomanwhowouldbecomemywife.
Pixarwentontocreatetheworldsrstcomputeranimatedfeaturelm,ToyStory,andisnowthemostsuccessfulanimationstudiointheworld.
Inaremarkableturnofevents,AppleboughtNeXT,IreturnedtoApple,andthetechnologywedevelopedatNeXTisattheheartofApple'scurrentrenaissance.
AndLaureneandIhaveawonderfulfamilytogether.
I'mprettysurenoneofthiswouldhavehappenedifIhadn'tbeenredfromApple.
Itwasawfultastingmedicine,butIguessthepatientneededit.
Sometimeslifehitsyouintheheadwithabrick.
Don'tlosefaith.
I'mconvincedthattheonlythinga2of410/12/112:07PMdvertisementhttp://www.
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com/fdcpunique=1318442817128thatkeptmegoingwasthatIlovedwhatIdid.
You'vegottondwhatyoulove.
Andthatisastrueforyourworkasitisforyourlovers.
Yourworkisgoingtollalargepartofyourlife,andtheonlywaytobetrulysatisedistodowhatyoubelieveisgreatwork.
Andtheonlywaytodogreatworkistolovewhatyoudo.
Ifyouhaven'tfoundityet,keeplooking.
Don'tsettle.
Aswithallmattersoftheheart,you'llknowwhenyoundit.
And,likeanygreatrelationship,itjustgetsbetterandbetterastheyearsrollon.
Sokeeplookinguntilyoundit.
Don'tsettle.
Mythirdstoryisaboutdeath.
WhenIwas17,Ireadaquotethatwentsomethinglike:"Ifyouliveeachdayasifitwasyourlast,somedayyou'llmostcertainlyberight.
"Itmadeanimpressiononme,andsincethen,forthepast33years,Ihavelookedinthemirroreverymorningandaskedmyself:"Iftodaywerethelastdayofmylife,wouldIwanttodowhatIamabouttodotoday"Andwhenevertheanswerhasbeen"No"fortoomanydaysinarow,IknowIneedtochangesomething.
RememberingthatI'llbedeadsoonisthemostimportanttoolI'veeverencounteredtohelpmemakethebigchoicesinlife.
Becausealmosteverything--allexternalexpectations,allpride,allfearofembarrassmentorfailure-thesethingsjustfallawayinthefaceofdeath,leavingonlywhatistrulyimportant.
RememberingthatyouaregoingtodieisthebestwayIknowtoavoidthetrapofthinkingyouhavesomethingtolose.
Youarealreadynaked.
Thereisnoreasonnottofollowyourheart.
AboutayearagoIwasdiagnosedwithcancer.
Ihadascanat7:30inthemorning,anditclearlyshowedatumoronmypancreas.
Ididn'tevenknowwhatapancreaswas.
Thedoctorstoldmethiswasalmostcertainlyatypeofcancerthatisincurable,andthatIshouldexpecttolivenolongerthanthreetosixmonths.
Mydoctoradvisedmetogohomeandgetmyaffairsinorder,whichisdoctor'scodeforpreparetodie.
Itmeanstotrytotellyourkidseverythingyouthoughtyou'dhavethenext10yearstotelltheminjustafewmonths.
Itmeanstomakesureeverythingisbuttonedupsothatitwillbeaseasyaspossibleforyourfamily.
Itmeanstosayyourgoodbyes.
Ilivedwiththatdiagnosisallday.
LaterthateveningIhadabiopsy,wheretheystuckanendoscopedownmythroat,throughmystomachandintomyintestines,putaneedleintomypancreasandgotafewcellsfromthetumor.
Iwassedated,butmywife,whowasthere,toldmethatwhentheyviewedthecellsunderamicroscopethedoctorsstartedcryingbecauseitturnedouttobeaveryrareformofpancreaticcancerthatiscurablewithsurgery.
IhadthesurgeryandI'mnenow.
ThiswastheclosestI'vebeentofacingdeath,andIhopeit'stheclosestIgetforafewmoredecades.
Havinglivedthroughit,Icannowsaythistoyouwithabitmorecertaintythanwhendeathwasausefulbutpurelyintellectualconcept:Noonewantstodie.
Evenpeoplewhowanttogotoheavendon'twanttodietogetthere.
Andyetdeathisthedestinationweallshare.
Noonehaseverescapedit.
Andthatisasitshouldbe,becauseDeathisverylikelythesinglebestinventionofLife.
ItisLife'schangeagent.
Itclearsouttheoldtomakewayforthenew.
Rightnowthenewisyou,butsomedaynottoolongfromnow,youwillgraduallybecometheoldandbeclearedaway.
Sorrytobesodramatic,butitisquitetrue.
Yourtimeislimited,sodon'twasteitlivingsomeoneelse'slife.
Don'tbetrappedbydogma--whichislivingwiththeresultsofotherpeople'sthinking.
Don'tletthenoiseofothers'opinionsdrownoutyourowninnervoice.
Andmostimportant,havethecouragetofollowyourheartandintuition.
Theysomehowalreadyknowwhatyoutrulywanttobecome.
Everythingelseissecondary.
a3of410/12/112:07PMdvertisementhttp://www.
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com/fdcpunique=1318442817128WhenIwasyoung,therewasanamazingpublicationcalledTheWholeEarthCatalog,whichwasoneofthebiblesofmygeneration.
ItwascreatedbyafellownamedStewartBrandnotfarfromhereinMenloPark,andhebroughtittolifewithhispoetictouch.
Thiswasinthelate1960's,beforepersonalcomputersanddesktoppublishing,soitwasallmadewithtypewriters,scissors,andpolaroidcameras.
ItwassortoflikeGoogleinpaperbackform,35yearsbeforeGooglecamealong:itwasidealistic,andoverowingwithneattoolsandgreatnotions.
StewartandhisteamputoutseveralissuesofTheWholeEarthCatalog,andthenwhenithadrunitscourse,theyputoutanalissue.
Itwasthemid-1970s,andIwasyourage.
Onthebackcoveroftheirnalissuewasaphotographofanearlymorningcountryroad,thekindyoumightndyourselfhitchhikingonifyouweresoadventurous.
Beneathitwerethewords:"StayHungry.
StayFoolish.
"Itwastheirfarewellmessageastheysignedoff.
StayHungry.
StayFoolish.
AndIhavealwayswishedthatformyself.
Andnow,asyougraduatetobeginanew,Iwishthatforyou.
StayHungry.
StayFoolish.
Thankyouallverymuch.
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