google.com, pub-3998556743903564, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement: A Masterclass In Life Wisdom

Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement: A Masterclass In Life Wisdom

  Jobs Visionary Changed Digital World

By Stan Nnalue

Born: February 24, 1955 

Died: October 5, 2011

American-born Steve Paul Jobs, often called the "Thomas Edison of the Digital Age," was one of the most transformative innovators in modern technology.

A Pioneer of the Personal Computing Revolution

Jobs co-founded Apple Inc. in 1976, revolutionizing how the world interacts with technology. Through Apple, he introduced groundbreaking products that redefined entire industries:

  • The Macintosh (1984) – Brought graphical user interfaces to the masses
  • iPod (2001) – Changed how we listen to music
  • iPhone (2007) – Turned mobile phones into pocket computers
  • iPad (2010) – Invented the modern tablet market

In 1985, after a power struggle, Jobs was ousted from Apple—only to return in 1997 and save the company from near-bankruptcy, turning it into the most valuable corporation in the world.

Beyond Apple: Pixar & the Reinvention of Animation

During his exile from Apple, Jobs acquired Pixar in 1986. Under his leadership, the studio revolutionized filmmaking. Pixar’s success made Jobs a billionaire before he even returned to Apple.

The Legacy of a Perfectionist

Jobs was known for his relentless pursuit of excellence, blending technology with artistry. His famous Stanford commencement speech (2005) remains one of the most-watched inspirational talks in history, with timeless advice

Reason: To inspire Stanford graduates with lessons from his personal and professional journey


Location: Stanford University, California, USA


Date: June 12, 2005


Effect: Became one of the most viral commencement speeches in history, viewed over 40 million times, with enduring influence on entrepreneurs and creatives worldwide.

 

The Full Speech

I am honoured 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.. a story.. from my life. That's it. No big deal….  

My 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.

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.

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.  

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.  

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.

 

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

 


(Key Excerpts)

On Connecting Life's Dots:
"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future."

On Love & Loss (Getting Fired from Apple):
"Getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again."

On Mortality:
"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."

Final Charge:
"Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."

 

Why This Speech Still Resonates

1.    Radical Honesty: Jobs shared his adoption story, career failures, and cancer diagnosis with vulnerability

2.    Three-Part Simplicity: Structured around three personal stories ("connecting dots," "love/loss," "death")

3.    The Power of Paradox: "Stay foolish" reframed ignorance as creative freedom

4.    Timing: Delivered as Apple was revolutionizing tech with the iPod, foreshadowing the iPhone

Cultural Impact:

  • Inspired the name of The Whole Earth Catalog's final issue
  • Frequently quoted in tech culture and startup ecosystems
  • Set the standard for modern commencement addresses

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life." - The line that still jolts listeners awake nearly 20 years later.

 

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