Listen to your inner voice

Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered a commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005, in which he told three stories that paved the way to his final message. The purpose of this paper is to summarize those stories.

Jobs called his first part of his speech “Connecting the Dots.” Having declared that he had never graduated, he told the story of his adoption: before he was adopted, his biological mother offered him for adoption on one condition: that he would go to college. He also talked about his motives for enrolling in Reed College as well as for dropping out. Then, he talked about his attending some other courses he was interested in and that provided him with the skills and tools that he would need for his future creations. This story was told to make it clear that what one does today, no matter how meaningless it seems, will most probably serve a purpose in the future. He ended the first story by saying “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” (Jobs, 2005).

The second part of his address was called “Love and Loss”. In this part, Jobs told his audience about the creation of Apple and Pixar, his dismissal from Apple- followed by his frustration and sense of loss- and his devotion to what he did, which encouraged him to start from scratch all over again. He concluded this part saying “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. 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” (Jobs, 2005).

The third and last story Jobs told was named “Death”.  He told the audience about his struggle against cancer and gave an account of the effect a quote he read early on in his life had on him. He reckoned that it was death that made change possible and consequently he started living life to the fullest. Jobs (2005) added “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”

Having shared those three stories, Jobs cited the farewell message of a magazine called The Whole Earth Catalog written by Stewart Brand to wish the graduate students that same thing and finish his speech saying “Stay Hungry.  Stay Foolish”.

Job´s commencement address at Stanford College was meant to transmit the newly graduate a long-lasting message. To convey this message, Jobs drew on his above-mentioned personal experiences as reminders of the important aspects they should bear in mind in order to excel both professionally and personally.

References

Jobs, S. P. (2005, June 12). Recorded Commencement Speech in Stanford.  [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc .