12 Jun 2011

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.

I first saw the video of Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford University Commencement Address a couple of years ago, and since then I've watched it numerous times, especially when the demands of the more formal and bureaucratic aspects of modern life threaten to take over.

With about a month to go to my summer vacation, I really needed to watch the speech once more and I wanted to share the video with you in the process.




My favourite fragments:

'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. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road, will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.'

'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. [...] Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.'


'Stay hungry, stay foolish.'
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13 comments:

  1. He is a very wise man.

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  2. That's pretty funny, starting a graduation commencement speech with a story about how college tuition is a waste of money. I'm sure the administrators and parents were all groaning inside. :)

    I like the message, though, about trusting it will all work out the way it is supposed to. I believe that.

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  3. Very nice, K.C. Thank you.

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  4. i love it...it cracks me up because i was accepted to reed college but couldn't afford the tuition so had to go to state school...now i'm going to work for a company run by a reedie :) but mostly, i love his comment about where his curiosity took him...lovely...

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  5. That last line in your extract is particularly poignant for me. My Mum (who died in April) was always telling me to live my own life and not try to live other people's lives. It's not easy doing that, especially for a mother. Thanks for sharing this speech. He has made lots of points to go away and think about.

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  6. Thanks for posting the video-very inspirational.

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  7. mbj: I agree!

    L.G.: Lol yes. I'm a firm believer in the power of education, though. It can't turn you into someone you're not, and a formal education is by no means the only way to learn, but it can smooth the way. Of course, I'm lucky to live in a country where good quality education is affordable for the majority.

    Suze: you're very welcome. I needed this today. ;-)

    EcoGrrl: hah, nice coincidence. :-)

    Rosalind: it has that effect on me every time I watch it. It's such an inspiring speech.

    Tim: I agree. Thanks for your comment! :-)

    Karen: me too. Thanks for stopping by, and your new hair colour looks amazing, by the way! You're clearly a redhead at heart. :-)

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  8. I like the line about not living someone else's life!

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  9. Alex: it sounds so easy, don't you think? =)

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  10. I love this. I'm working on a big risky change I can't disclose yet, and this is the kind of believing that we all need to fully follow dreams. Thanks for sharing.

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  11. Toby: now you're teasing! :-) Good luck with your (ad)venture(s)! :-)

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