World-famous inspirational speech

Steve Jobs' Speech at Stanford University Graduation Ceremony in 2005 (Chinese and English)

You must find something you like.

You must find what you love.

I am honored to attend the graduation ceremony of one of the best universities in the world with you today. I didn't graduate from college. To tell the truth, this is the closest I have ever graduated from college. Today I want to tell you three stories in my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

I am honored to attend the graduation ceremony with you today. Stanford University is one of the best universities in the world. I didn't graduate from college. To tell the truth, today may be the closest day to graduation from college in my life. Today I want to tell you three stories in my life. It's no big deal, just three stories.

The first story is about connection points.

The first story is about how to connect the dots in life.

After the first six months, I dropped out of Reed College, but before I really dropped out, I stayed as an observer for about 18 months. Then why did I drop out of school?

I dropped out of Reed University six months later, but after eighteen months-before I really decided to drop out, I often went to school. Why did I drop out of school?

It started before I was born. My biological mother is a young unmarried university graduate student, and she decided to let others adopt me. She strongly believed that I should be adopted by college graduates, so I was adopted by a lawyer and his wife as soon as I was born. Except when I was born, they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, received a phone call in the middle of the night and asked, "We have an unexpected baby boy;" Do you want him? " They said, "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother never graduated from college and my father never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. A few months later, when my parents promised that I would go to college one day, she agreed.

The story begins when I was born. My biological mother is a young unmarried college graduate. She decided to let others adopt me. She really wants me to be adopted by college graduates. So when I was born, she made all the preparations so that I could be adopted by a lawyer couple. But what she didn't expect was that when I was born, the lawyer and his wife suddenly decided that they wanted a girl. So my biological parents (who are still on my biological parents' watch list) suddenly received a phone call in the middle of the night: "We have an unexpected baby boy here now. Do you want him? " They replied, "Of course!" But my biological mother later 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. Only a few months later, my parents promised her that I would go to college, and then she agreed.

17 years later, I really went to college. But I naively chose a university almost as expensive as Stanford, and all my working-class parents' savings were spent on my college tuition. After six months, I don't see the value. I don't know what I want to do in my life, and I don't know how the university will help me find the answer. I spent all my parents' life savings here. So I decided to drop out of school and believe that everything will be fine. It was a very bad decision at the time, but in retrospect, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. From the moment I drop out of school, I can stop taking compulsory courses that I am not interested in and start listening to those classes that look interesting.

At seventeen, I really went to college. But I foolishly chose a school that is almost as expensive as your Stanford University. My parents are still in the blue-collar class, and they spent almost all their savings on my tuition. After six months, I can't see its value. I don't know what to do in life, and I don't know what kind of answer the university can help me find. But here, I almost spent all my parents' life savings. So I decided to drop out of school, which I think is the right decision. There is no denying that I was really scared at that time, but in retrospect, it was really the best decision of my life. At the moment I decided to drop out of school, I finally didn't have to take courses that made me uninterested. Then I can take a class that looks interesting.

It's not romantic. I don't have a dormitory, so I sleep on the floor of my friend's room. I return coke bottles with a deposit of 5 cents to buy food. Every Sunday night, I walk 7 miles across town and have a weekly meal at Hare Krishna Temple. I like it. Many things I put into following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless. Let me give you an example:

But it's not that romantic I lost my dormitory and had to sleep on the floor of my friend's room. I went to buy a bottle of coke for 5 cents, just to fill my stomach. On Sunday night, I had to walk seven miles across the city to Hare Krishna Temple for a meal-the only good meal this week. But I like this. I followed my intuition and curiosity, and many things I met later proved to be priceless. Let me give you an example:

At that time, the calligraphy teaching provided by Reed College was probably the best in the country. Every poster in the whole campus and every label on every drawer are beautifully handwritten. Because I have dropped out of school and don't have to take normal classes, I decided to take calligraphy classes and learn how to do it. I learned serif fonts and tri-serif fonts, the change of spacing between different letter combinations, and what makes great typesetting great. This is a beauty, historical and artistic delicacy that science cannot capture, and I find it fascinating.

Reed University offered the best calligraphy course in America at that time. Every poster and label of every drawer in this university is covered with beautiful calligraphy. Because I dropped out of school and didn't receive formal training, I decided to take this course and learn how to write beautiful calligraphy. I learned san serif and serif fonts, how to change the length of spaces in different letter combinations, and how to make the best printing style. That is a beautiful and real artistic exquisiteness that science can never capture. I think it is really wonderful.

These have no hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we designed the first Macintosh, I remembered everything. We designed all this into the Mac. This is the first computer with beautiful fonts. If I hadn't taken that single course in college, the Mac computer wouldn't have multiple fonts or fonts arranged in proportion. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it is likely that no personal computer will have them. If I hadn't dropped out of school, I wouldn't have sat in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have such beautiful fonts. Of course, when I was in college, it was impossible to connect the dots in the future. But looking back ten years later, it is very, very clear.

At that time, it seemed that these things had no practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we designed the first Macintosh, this was not the case. I designed all the guys I learned at that time into the Mac. That was the first computer that used beautiful printed fonts. If I hadn't dropped out of school, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to take this excellent calligraphy class that I was interested in, and the Mac wouldn't have so many rich fonts and pleasing font spacing. Then personal computers wouldn't have such wonderful fonts now. Of course, when I was in college, it was impossible to connect the dots of the past, but looking back ten years later, I really suddenly realized.

Again, you can't look forward and connect the dots; You have to look back to connect them. So you must believe that these points will be connected in some way in your future. You must believe in something-your intuition, destiny, life, karma, whatever, because believing in those points that will connect will give you confidence to follow your heart, even if it will lead you off the familiar road, which will make all the difference.

Again, you can't connect these pieces when you look forward; You can only connect the dots when you look back. So you must believe that one day in your future, these pieces will be connected. You must believe in something: your courage, your goals, your life, your causes and consequences. Because only if you believe that these points are related can you confidently embark on the road of your dreams, which may make you deviate from the mainstream values, and therefore, life may really be different.

My second story is about love and loss.

My second story is about love and loss.

I'm lucky-I found something I like to do early. When I was 20, Woz and I founded Apple in my parents' garage. We worked hard. In 10 years, Apple has grown from the two of us in the garage to a company with more than 4,000 employees and a value of $2 billion. A year ago, we just released our best product-Macintosh computer, when I just turned 30. Then I was fired. How did you get fired from the company you started? With the growth of Apple, we hired a very talented person to manage the company with me. In the first year or so, everything went smoothly. But then we began to disagree about the future, and finally we fell out. When we did this, our board of directors stood by him. So at 30, I was out. And very public. The focus of my whole adult life is gone, which is devastating.

I am lucky because I found something I love very early. Woz and I started Apple in our parents' garage when we were twenty. We work very hard. 10 years later, the company has grown from a pauper in those two garages to a large company with more than 4,000 employees and a value of more than 2 billion. In the ninth year of the company's establishment, we just released the best product, that is Macintosh. I'm going to be thirty, too. That year, I was fired. How did you get fired from the company you started? When Apple developed rapidly, we hired a very talented person to manage the company with me. In the first few years, the company operated very well. But then we disagreed about the future and finally quarreled. The board of directors supported him when the quarrel was fierce. So at the age of thirty, I was fired. I was fired in front of so many people. At the age of 30, all the pillars of my life have left me, which is really a devastating blow.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I think I let down the previous generation of entrepreneurs-when the baton was passed to me, I dropped it. I met with david packard and bob noyce and tried to apologize for my poor performance. I'm a very public loser, and I even thought about escaping from Silicon Valley. But I gradually understand something-I still love what I do. What happened in Appler hasn't changed that at all. I was rejected, but I still love. So I decided to start over.

In the first few months, I really didn't know what to do. I lost my passion for starting a business, and I feel that I have depressed all the people who started a business with me. I met david parker and Bob Boyce and tried to apologize to them. I made a mess of things. But I gradually found the light, and I still like what I am doing. What happened at Apple hasn't changed this at all, not at all. I was fired, but I still love it. So I decided to start all over again.

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