Apple founder Steve Jobs' speech at Stanford University inspired countless people

Body translation

You've got to find what you love.

You have to find what you're passionate about.

This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

This is a transcript of a speech given by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple and Pixar Animation Studios, at a commencement ceremony at Stanford University on 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 to 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 today at the commencement ceremony, Stanford University is one of the best universities in the world. I never graduated from college. To be honest, today is probably the closest day in my life to graduating from college. Today I want to tell you three stories from 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 how to connect the dots of 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 of Reed after six months, but eighteen months later, before I made the decision to quit, I was still going to school regularly. 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 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 popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl.

The story begins when I was born. My biological mother was a young, unmarried college graduate. She decided to have someone else adopt me, and she really wanted me to be adopted by a college graduate. So by the time I was born, she had everything in place to be adopted by a lawyer and his wife. But what she didn't expect was that when I was born, the lawyer couple suddenly decided that they wanted a girl.

So my parents, who 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 would someday go to college.

So my adoptive parents (who are still on my biological parents' watch list) suddenly got a call in the middle of the night: "We have a baby boy here who was accidentally born, do you want him?" They replied, "Of course!" But my biological mother then found out that my adoptive mother never went to college, and my father never even went to high school. She refused to sign the adoption contract. When a few months later, my parents promised her that they would let me go to college, and that's when 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.

At the age of seventeen, I really went to college. But I stupidly chose a school that was almost as expensive as your Stanford University, and my parents were still in the blue-collar class, and they spent almost all of their savings on my tuition. Six months later, I don't see the value in it. I didn't know what I wanted to do in my life, and I didn't know what college would help me find.

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 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. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

But here, I spent almost all of my parents' life savings. So I decided to drop out of school, and I think it was the right decision. Admittedly, I was scared, but looking back now, it was one of the best decisions of my life. The moment I made the decision to drop out, I was finally able to avoid taking courses that didn't interest me in the slightest. Then I can also take courses that seem 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 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 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 later on. Let me give you one example！

But it's not that romantic. I lost my dorm so I had to sleep on the floor of a friend's room, I went to pick up a can of Coke that could be exchanged for 5 cents, just to fill my stomach, and on a Sunday night I had to walk seven miles across the city to the Temple of Hare Krishna, just to get a good meal—the only good meal of the week, and I loved the food there. I followed my instincts and curiosity, and many of the things I experienced at the time have since proven to be invaluable. 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.

Reed College offered perhaps the best lettering program in the United States at the time. Every poster and every drawer in this university is covered with beautiful art. Since I dropped out of school and didn't have to go to a regular course, I decided to take this course to learn how to write beautiful calligraphy.

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.

I learned about SAN Serif and Serif typefaces, I learned how to change the length of spaces in different letter combinations, and how to make the best typography. It's a beautiful, authentic art that science can never capture, and I find it 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 would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts.

At the time, it seemed that none of these things had any practical application in my life. But 10 years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh, it wasn't like that. I designed all the things I was learning at the time into the Mac. It was the first computer to use beautiful typographic fonts.

And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would 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.

If I hadn't dropped out of school at that time, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to take this font art course that interests me, and my Mac wouldn't have so many rich fonts and pleasing font spacing. Because Windows only copied the Mac, now personal computers can have such wonderful fonts. Of course, when I was in college, it was impossible to connect the dots of the past, but when I look back on it all 10 years later, it really dawns on me.

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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 can't connect the pieces together when you look forward; You can only connect the dots when you look back. So you have to believe that these pieces will be connected one day in your future. You have to believe in certain things: your courage, your purpose, your life, your karma. The process has never disappointed me, it has only made my life more special.

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 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30.

I was very lucky because I found something I loved at a very early age. Woz and I started Apple in our parents' garage when we were 20 years old. We worked hard, and after 10 years, the company had grown from a poor kid in two garages to a company worth more than $2 billion with over 4,000 employees. In our ninth year of existence, we have just released our best product, and that is the Macintosh. I'm also approaching the age of 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.

In that year, I was fired for squid. How could you be fired by a company you founded yourself? Well, at a time when Apple was growing rapidly, we hired a very talented guy to run the company with me, and in the first few years, the company worked very well. But then we disagreed on the future, and we ended up arguing. When the argument came to an end, the board was on his side. So when I was 30 years old, I was fired. I was fired under the gaze of so many people. It was devastating to have the entire pillar of my life gone from me in my first year.

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.

For the first few months, I really didn't know what to do. I feel like I've let down the previous generation of entrepreneurs and I've lost the baton they gave me. I met with David Packard, who founded Hewlett-Packard, and Robert Noyce, who founded Intel, and tried to apologize to them.

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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 made things terrible. But I'm starting to see the light of day, and I still love what I'm doing. What happened to Apple didn't change that in the slightest, not at all. I was evicted, but I still love what I do. So I decided to start all over again.

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 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 realize it at the time, but as it turned out, being fired from Apple was the best thing that ever happened to me. Because, the burden of being a successful person has been replaced by the feeling of being an entrepreneur, and there is nothing more certain than that. It made me feel so free and entered one of the most creative phases of 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 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.

Over the next 5 years, I founded a company called NeXT and a company called Pixar, and then met an elegant woman who would later become my wife. Pixar produced the world's first computer-made animated film, Toy Story, and Pixar is now the world's most successful computer-based production studio. In a series of later operations, Apple acquired NeXT, and then I went back to Apple. The technology we developed at NeXT has played a key role in Apple's revival today. And, together with Lauren, I have built a happy and perfect family.

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 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.

I'm pretty sure that none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. The taste of this medicine is too bitter, but I think the patient needs this medicine. There are times when life picks up a brick and slaps it on your head. Don't lose faith. I knew very well that the only thing that kept me going was what I did that I loved so much. You need 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.

It's true for work, but it's also true for your lover. Your work will take up a large part of your life. You can only be satisfied if you believe that you are doing great work. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, don't stop, just look for it with all your heart, and when you find it, your heart will tell you. Like any sincere relationship, it will only grow closer as the years go by. So keep looking until you find it, don't stop!

My third story is about death.

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.

When I was 17 years old, I read a quote: "If you live every day as if it were the last day of your life, one day you will find that you are right." This sentence made an impression on me. Since then, 33 years later, every morning I would look in the mirror and ask myself, "If today were the last day of my life, would you do what you wanted to do today?" When the answer was "no" for days on end, I knew I needed 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.

"Remember that you are dying" is the most important motto I have encountered in my life. It helped me point out important choices in my life. Because almost everything, including all the honor, all the pride, all the fear of embarrassment and failure, these will disappear in the face of death. What I see is what is really important that is left behind. You sometimes think that you are going to lose something, and "remember that you are going to die" is the best way I know to avoid these thoughts. You're already naked, and there's no reason why you shouldn't follow your inner voice.

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.

About a year ago, I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a check-up at 7:30 a.m. and the test clearly showed a tumour in my pancreas. I didn't even know what the pancreas was. The doctor told me it was probably an incurable cancer and that I had 3 to 6 months left to live in this world. My doctor told me to go home and sort out everything I had, which is the doctor's standard procedure for a dying patient. That means you're going to finish what you're going to say to your child for the next 10 years in a few months. That means arranging everything so that your family will have as much life as possible and that will be as easy as possible; That means you're going to say "goodbye".

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 took that diagnosis all day, and that night I had a biopsy, and the doctor put an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach, and then into my intestines, and used a needle to take a few cells on the tumor on my pancreas. I was anesthetized, but my wife was there and later told me that they started crying when the doctors looked at the cells under the microscope because they turned out to be a very rare type of pancreatic cancer cell that could be cured with surgery. I had this surgery and now I'm cured.

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

That was the closest I came to death, and I hope it's the closest I'll come in decades to come. Having come back to life from the line of death, I can say to you with more certainty than I did when I had previously regarded death as an imaginary 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.

No one wants to die, and even if people want to go to heaven, they don't die just to go there. But death is the common end for each of us. No one has ever been able to escape it. And so it should be. Because death is the best invention of life. It will purge the old to make way for the new. You are now new, but from now on you will gradually become old and be sent off the stage of life. I'm sorry it's 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 other's 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.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it repeating other people's lives. Don't be bound by dogma, that means you live with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let other people's noisy opinions overshadow your true inner voice. And most importantly, you have the courage to follow the instructions of your intuition and your heart – they know in some way what you want to be, and 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 notion.

When I was younger, there was an amazing deafening magazine called the Global Overview, which was held up by my generation. It's edited by a guy named Stuart Brand in Menlo Park, not far from here, and he makes the magazine very poetic. It was the late '60s, before the advent of personal computers, and all the content of the magazine was edited with typewriters, scissors, and Polaroid cameras. It's a bit like Google printed on paper, which appeared thirty-five years before Google: it's fantastic, 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 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.

Stewart and his team published several issues of the Global Overview, and when it had fulfilled its mission, they published the last issue. It was in the mid-'70s, and I was the same age as you. On the back cover of the last issue is a photograph of an early morning country road (if you're adventurous enough, you'll see it), and under the photograph there is a line that reads: "Hungry for knowledge, humble for foolishness." "It's their farewell motto." If you are hungry for knowledge, if you are humble and foolish. "I always wish I could be like that. Now, as you begin your graduation and new journey, I wish you the following:

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

If you are hungry for knowledge, if you are humble and foolish.

Thank you all very much.

Thank you for listening!