This month’s issue of Korea IT Times includes a summary of the commencement speech given by the late CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, at Stanford University in 2005. His speech is considered by many to be very powerful and was also listed as number one for the top ten most inspirational graduation speeches in America.
We felt it was necessary to feature a summary Job’s commencement address since he was an innovative genius in animation and software. If you have not read Job’s speech before, you will soon learn how one of the most popular brands worldwide began in the garage of his parents’ home and later developed into a global bestseller.
Jobs’s biological mother was a single mom and graduate student who made a difficult choice to give up her son for adoption, wanting a better life for her child. His biological mother wanted her son to be adopted by parents who graduated from college, so he would be afforded many benefits. Although a family was interested in adopting the infant, his mother refused because neither parent possessed a college. She later agreed after Steve’s adoptive parents promised he would attend college.
17 years later, Steve enrolled at Reed College but dropped out 6 months later. Steve believed that the classes he was required to take were not beneficial, and like most college freshmen, he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. He also felt he was spending all his working-class’s parent’s hard earned money on his college tuition, and so he searched for a new map to follow down his road of life. Although he dropped out of his core classes at Reed College, he still attended a calligraphy class that was regularly offered. This would later help him develop the world famous, Macintosh.
At the age of 20, Steve Jobs and his friend Steve Wozniak began a small business in the garage of Job’s parents’ house known as Apple. Ten years later, the small business that began in a garage was a $2 billion company with over 4,000 employees nationwide.
At the age of 30, a year after the Macintosh was created, Jobs was fired from his position at Apple. He even asked the amusing question, how could I get fired from the company which I started He was very depressed and thought of himself as a failure to the company and even considered leaving the Valley and putting Apple behind him, but his drive and love for what he did inspired him to later create NEXT and Pixar. The birth of these companies gave way to many successful animated movies, the most famous known as Toy Story. At an amazing turn of events, Apple bought NEXT and Steve was back with the company he had started many years ago. Around that time, he also met and married his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs.
Years later, Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was told he had a very short time to live. The MD’s who were caring for Jobs found that they could remove his cancerous tumor by surgery, after further testing. This gave Steve the realization that death was part of life and so he lived by the motto of “living as if it was your last day.”
He stated in his commencement speech, “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice.” We can all take this quote to heart and utilize this in our own lives. Many times, individuals may strive to make others happy or try to follow a social normality, and they end up forgetting who they are themselves. Remember that you are in charge of your own happiness, and never allow anyone to take that from you.
Another point made from his commencement speech is “love and loss.” Steve had a passion for the company which he created and once fired felt a loss in his life. He never let that stop him from his love of innovation and design which led to the creation of Pixar and NEXT. He mentioned that you should do what you love, though it may be the most difficult and unpopular road to take. He also comments that, as he felt the loss of being fired from the company which he started, we should learn from the loss and change it to something which we can use and apply to our lives to make us better human beings.
The final point Steve wanted to make was to connect the dots of life. Steve Jobs came from an average American family and only finished 6 months of college. Though unaware of what he wanted to do after dropping out he knew had a passion for design and innovating, which led him to create the Macintosh. Apple was started in his garage after he dropped out of school and became and is now one of top earning companies in the world. The twists and turns of Steve’s life helped him get where he was, and thus making him one of the most successful people in the world, all because of his passion.
What is your passion Do you love what you do After all, we spend more time at our offices than with our families in most cases. If you are unsure of your passion, keep looking and do not settle for less than what you deserve. Do you love what you do If you cannot answer yes, then perhaps it is time for a career change. After all, doing a job you love can add up to ten years on a person’s life.
In conclusion, Steve Jobs was a memorable figure in the world of innovative electronics and will forever be regarded and respected as the creator of one of most technological advanced systems the world has come to know.
