Commencement Address at Stanford University
Steve Jobs
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. Truth be told, I never graduated from college, and 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.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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 far more 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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 returned 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.
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. 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.
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.
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 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:
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 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.
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.
译文
斯坦福是世界上最好的大学之一，今天能参加各位的毕业典礼，我倍感荣幸。我从来没有从大学毕业。说实话，此时是我离大学毕业最近的一刻。今天，我想告诉你们我生命中的三个故事。不是什么大不了的事情，只是三个故事。
第一个故事 串起生命的点滴
串起生命的点滴我在里德大学待了6个月就退学了，但之后仍作为旁听生混了18个月后才最终离开。我为什么要退学呢？
故事要从我出生之前开始说起。我的生母是一名年轻的未婚妈妈，当时她还是一所大学的在读研究生，于是决定把我送给其他人收养。她坚持我应该被一对念过大学的夫妇收养，所以在我出生的时候，她已经为我被一个律师和他的太太收养作好了所有准备。但在最后一刻，这对夫妇改了主意，决定收养一个女孩。候选名单上的另外一对夫妇，也就是我的养父母，在一天午夜接到了电话：“有一个不请自来的男婴，你们想收养吗？”他们回答：“当然想。”事后，我的生母发现我的养母根本没有从大学毕业，而养父甚至连高中都没有毕业，所以她拒绝签署最后的收养文件。直到几个月后，我的养父母保证会把我送到大学，她的态度才有所转变。
17年之后，我真上了大学。但因为年幼无知，我选了一所和你们斯坦福一样贵的大学。我的父母都是工人阶层，他们几乎把所有积蓄都花在了我的学费上。在6个月之后，我发现自己完全不知道其中的价值所在。当时，我的人生漫无目标，也不知道大学对我能起到什么帮助，为了念书，还花光了父母毕生的积蓄，所以我决定退学，希望一切会如我所愿。当时情形非常令人害怕，但现在回头看看，那是我这一生中最棒的决定之一。在作出退学决定的那一刻，我终于可以不必去上那些我毫无兴趣的必修课了，而可以去旁听那些看起来有点意思的科目。
这件事情做起来一点都不浪漫。因为没有自己的宿舍，我只能睡在朋友房间的地板上；可乐瓶的押金是5分钱，我把瓶子还回去好用押金买吃的；每个周日的晚上，我都会步行7英里穿越市区，到哈瑞奎师那神庙吃一顿大餐，我喜欢那儿的食物。我跟随好奇心和直觉所做的事情，事后证明大多数都珍贵异常。
我举一个例子：那个时候，里德大学提供全美最好的书法教育。整个校园的每一张海报，每一个抽屉上的标签，都是漂亮的手写体。由于已经退学，不用再去上那些常规课程，于是我决定报一个书法班，想学学怎么写出一手漂亮字。在这个班上，我学习了各种字体，如何改变不同字体组合之间的字间距，以及如何做出漂亮的版式。那是一种科学永远无法捕捉的美妙，充满美感、历史感和艺术感，我发现这太有意思了。
当时，我压根儿没指望这些知识会在生活中有什么实际运用价值；但是10年后，当我们设计第一款Macintosh电脑的时候，这些东西全派上了用场。我把它们全部设计进了Macintosh。这是第一台可以排出好看版式的电脑。如果当时我大学里没有旁听这门课程的话，Macintosh就不会提供各种字体和等间距字体。因为Windows程序只是照抄了麦金塔，可能所有的电脑都不会有这些字体。如果我当时没有退学，就不会去参加这个书法课程，现在个人电脑就不会有这么美妙的字形了。当然我在念大学的那会儿，不可能有先见之明，把那些生命中的点点滴滴都串起来；但10年之后再回头看，生命的轨迹变得非常清楚。
再者，你在向前展望的时候不可能串联这些片断，只能在回顾的时候做到这一点。所以你必须相信这些片断会在你未来的某一天串联起来。你必须要相信某些东西：你的勇气、目的、生命、因缘。这个过程从来没有令我失望，让我的生命更加地与众不同。
第二个故事 关于爱与失去
我是幸运的，在年轻的时候就知道了自己爱做什么。在我20岁的时候，就和沃兹在我父母的车库里开创了苹果电脑公司。我们勤奋工作，只用10年的时间，苹果电脑就从车库里的两个小伙子扩展成拥有4000名员工、价值达到20亿美元的企业。而在此之前的一年，我们刚推出了最好的产品Macintosh电脑，当时我刚过而立之年。然后，我就被炒了鱿鱼。一个人怎么可以被他所创立的公司解雇呢？嗯，在苹果快速成长的时候，我们雇用了一个很有天分的家伙和我一起管理这个公司。在最初的几年，公司运转得很好。但是后来我们对未来的看法发生了分歧，最终反目。吵到不可开交的时候，董事会站在了他那一边。所以在30岁的时候，我被解雇了。这件事闹得满城风雨。我失去了一直整个成年生活的重心，是一个毁灭性的打击。
头几个月，我真不知道该做些什么。我觉得自己让老一辈创业者失望了——我丢了传到我手里的接力棒。我和戴维·帕克和鲍勃·博伊斯见面，试图就我把事情弄砸道歉。我成了人人皆知的失败者，甚至想过逃离硅谷。但曙光渐渐出现，我还是喜欢我从事的这些东西。苹果公司发生的这些事情丝毫没有改变这些。我被驱逐了，但我仍然爱它。我决定重新开始。
我当时没有觉察，但事后证明，从苹果公司被炒是我这辈子发生的最棒的事情。成功的沉重被从头来过的轻松取代，不再对每件事情那么确定。这解放了我，让我进入生命中最有创造力的一个阶段。
在接下来的5年里，我开创了一家名为NeXT的公司，还有一家名叫Pixar的公司，并且结识了后来成为我妻子的伟大女性。Pixar制作了世界上第一部全电脑动画电影《玩具总动员》，现在这家公司是世界上最成功的动画制作公司之一。后来事态有了戏剧性的回转，苹果买下了NeXT，我又回到了苹果。我们在NeXT研发出的技术成为推动苹果复兴的核心动力。我和劳伦斯也建立了美满的家庭。
我坚信，如果我不被苹果开除的话，这一切都不会发生。这剂良药味道太苦，但是我想良药苦口利于病。生活有时候给你当头一棒，但不要灰心。热爱我所从事的工作，是一直支持我不断前进的唯一理由。你得找出你的最爱，对爱人如此，找工作亦如此。你的工作将会占据生活中很大的一部分。你只有相信自己所做的是伟大的工作，你才能怡然自得。如果你现在还没有找到，那么继续找。不要停下来。就如所有关乎心意的事情一般，当你找到的时候你会立刻知道。就像任何真诚的关系，随着岁月的流逝只会越来越紧密。所以继续找，直到你找到它。不要停下来。
第三个故事 关于死亡
17岁那年，我读过一句格言，好像是：“如果把每一天都当成生命的最后一天，总有一天你会发现你做对了。”这句话给我留下了深刻的印象。在过去的33年里，我每天早晨都对着镜子问自己：“如果今天是我生命的末日，我还愿意做我今天本来要做的事情吗？”当一连好多天答案都是否定的时候，我就知道该作出改变了。
记住生命随时可能结束是我遇到的最重要，它帮我指明了生命中重要的选择。因为几乎一切——所有的外界期望、所有的名声、所有对困窘或失败的恐惧——在死亡面前都消失不见，只有真正重要的东西才会留下。记住你将死去是我知道的克服患得患失心理的最好方法。你已经了无牵挂，没有理由不再追随自己的心意而活。
大约一年前，我被诊断出癌症。我在早晨七点半做了一个扫描，结果清楚地显示我的胰脏出现了一个肿瘤。我当时甚至不知道胰脏是什么东西。医生告诉我，几乎可以确定是一种不治之症，顶多还能活3至6个月。医生叫我回家，打理好自己的事务，那是医生对料理后事的暗语。意味着你将要把未来十年对你小孩说的话在几个月里说完；意味着把每件事情都搞定，让你的家人尽可能轻松地生活；意味着你要说再见了。
我整天都想着诊断结果。那天晚上做了一个切片检查，医生把一个内窥镜从我的喉管伸进去，穿过我的胃进入肠道，将探针伸进胰脏，从肿瘤上取出了几个细胞。我打了镇静剂，但我的太太当时在场，她后来告诉我说，当大夫们从显微镜下观察了细胞组织之后，都叫了起来，因为那是非常罕见的、可以通过手术治疗的胰脏癌。我做了这个手术，现在痊愈了。
这是我最接近死亡的一次，我希望在随后的几十年里，都不要有比这一次更接近死亡的经历。在这次与死神擦肩而过的经验之后，比死亡对我来说只是一个有效却空洞概念的时候，我能够更肯定地告诉你们以下事实：没人想死；即使想去天堂的人，也希望能活着进去。死亡是我们每个人的终点站，没人能够成为例外。生命就是如此，因为死亡很可能是生命最好的造物，它是生命更迭的媒介，送走耄耋老者，给新生代让路。现在你们还是新生代，但不久的将来你们也将逐渐老去，被送出人生的舞台。很抱歉说得这么做作，但事实就是如此。
你们的时间有限，所以不要浪费时间过着别人的生活。不要受教条所限——盲从教条就是活在别人思考的结果里。不要让别人的喧嚣淹没了你内在的心声。最为重要的是，要有勇气遵从你的内心和直觉，它们某种程度上知道你其实想成为什么样的人。其他事物都是次要的。
我年轻的时候，有一本叫《整个地球的目录》的好刊物，它是我们那一代人的圣经之一。它是一个叫斯图亚特·布兰德的家伙在离这里不远的门洛帕克写的，他诗意的笔调赋予了这本书以生命。那是六十年代后期，还没有个人电脑，所以这本书全部是用打字机、剪刀还有相机制造的。它有点像纸版的谷歌，比谷歌还早三十五年：它充满理想主义，有许多灵巧的方法和伟大的想法。
斯图亚特和他的团队出版了几期《整个地球的目录》，当它完成了使命的时候，他们做了最后一期的目录。那是七十年代的中期，我当时跟你们差不多大。他们最后一期的封底上是清晨乡村公路的照片（如果你有冒险精神的话，可以在旅行时走过这样的路），在照片之下有这样一段话：“求知若渴，虚怀若谷。”这是他们停刊的告别语。求知若渴，虚怀若谷。我总是希望自己能够那样。现在，在你们即将毕业、开始新旅程的时候，我也希望你们能这样：
求知若渴，虚怀若谷。
非常感谢你们。