喬布斯斯坦福大學演講

ThisisthetextoftheCommencementaddressbySteveJobs,CEOofAppleComputerandofPixarAnimationStudios,deliveredonJune12,2005.Thankyou.I’mhonoredtobewithyoutodayforyourcommencementfromoneofthefinestuniversitiesintheworld.Truthbetold,Inevergraduatedfromcollege,andthisistheclosestI’veevergottentoacollegegraduation.TodayIwanttotellyouthreestoriesfrommylife.That'sit.Nobigdeal.Justthreestories.Thefirststoryisaboutconnectingthedots.IdroppedoutofReedCollegeafterthefirst6months,butthenstayedaroundasadrop-inforanother18monthsorsobeforeIreallyquit.SowhydidIdropout?ItstartedbeforeIwasborn.Mybiologicalmotherwasayoung,unwedcollegegraduatestudent,andshedecidedtoputmeupforadoption.ShefeltverystronglythatIshouldbeadoptedbycollegegraduates,soeverythingwasallsetformetobeadoptedatbirthbyalawyerandhiswife.ExceptthatwhenIpoppedouttheydecidedatthelastminutethattheyreallywantedagirl.Somyparents,whowereonawaitinglist,gotacallinthemiddleofthenightasking:“Wehaveanunexpectedbabyboy,doyouwanthim?”Theysaid:“Ofcourse."Mybiologicalmotherfoundoutlaterthatmymotherhadnevergraduatedfromcollegeandthatmyfatherhadnevergraduatedfromhighschool.Sherefusedtosignthefinaladoptionpapers.SheonlyrelentedafewmonthslaterwhenmyparentspromisedthatIwouldgotocollege.Thiswasthestartinmylife.And17yearslaterIdidgotocollege.ButInaivelychoseacollegethatwasalmostasexpensiveasStanford,andallofmyworking-classparents'savingswerebeingspentonmycollegetuition.Aftersixmonths,Icouldn'tseethevalueinit.IhadnoideawhatIwantedtodowithmylifeandnoideahowcollegewasgoingtohelpmefigureitout.AndhereIwasspendingallofthemoneymyparentshadsavedtheirentirelife.SoIdecidedtodropoutandtrustthatitwouldallworkoutOK.Itwasprettyscaryatthetime,butlookingbackitwasoneofthebestdecisionsIevermade.TheminuteIdroppedoutIcouldstoptakingtherequiredclassesthatdidn'tinterestme,andbegindroppinginontheonesthatlookedfarmoreinteresting.Itwasn'tallromantic.Ididn'thaveadormroom,soIsleptonthefloorinfriends'rooms.Ireturnedcokebottlesforthe5depositstobuyfoodwith,andIwouldwalkthe7milesacrosstowneverySundaynighttogetonegoodmealaweekattheHareKrishnatemple.Ilovedit.AndmuchofwhatIstumbledintobyfollowingmycuriosityandintuitionturnedouttobepricelesslateron.Letmegiveyouoneexample:ReedCollegeatthattimeofferedperhapsthebestcalligraphyinstructioninthecountry.Throughoutthecampuseveryposter,everylabeloneverydrawer,wasbeautifullyhand-calligraphed.BecauseIhaddroppedoutanddidn'thavetotakethenormalclasses,Idecidedtotakeacalligraphyclasstolearnhowtodothis.Ilearnedaboutserifandsan-seriftypefaces,aboutvaryingtheamountofspacebetweendifferentlettercombinations,aboutwhatmakesgreattypographygreat.Itwasbeautiful,historical,artisticallysubtleinawaythatsciencecan'tcapture,andIfounditfascinating.Noneofthishadevenahopeofanypracticalapplicationinmylife.Buttenyearslater,whenweweredesigningthefirstMacintoshcomputer,itallcamebacktome.AndwedesigneditallintotheMac.Itwasthefirstcomputerwithbeautifultypography.IfIhadneverdroppedinonthatsinglecourseincollege,theMacwouldhaveneverhadmultipletypefacesorproportionallyspacedfonts.AndsinceWindowsjustcopiedtheMac,it'slikelythatnopersonalcomputerwouldhavethem.IfIhadneverdroppedout,Iwouldhaveneverdroppedinonthatcalligraphyclass,andpersonalcomputersmightnothavethewonderfultypographythattheydo.OfcourseitwasimpossibletoconnectthedotslookingforwardwhenIwasincollege.Butitwasvery,veryclearlookingbackwardstenyearslater.Again,youcan'tconnectthedotslookingforward,youcanonlyconnectthemlookingbackwards.Soyouhavetotrustthatthedotswillsomehowconnectinyourfuture.Youhavetotrustinsomething—yourgut,destiny,life,karma,whatever—becausebelievingthatthedotswillconnectdowntheroadwillgiveyoutheconfidencetofollowyourheart,evenwhenitleadsyouoffthewell-wornpath,andthatwillmakeallthedifference.Mysecondstoryisaboutloveandloss.Iwaslucky—IfoundwhatIlovedtodoearlyinlife.WozandIstartedAppleinmyparentsgaragewhenIwas20.Weworkedhard,andin10yearsApplehadgrownfromjustthetwoofusinagarageintoa$2billioncompanywithover4000employees.Wehadjustreleasedourfinestcreation—theMacintosh—ayearearlier,andIhadjustturned30.AndthenIgotfired.Howcanyougetfiredfromacompanyyoustarted?Well,asApplegrewwehiredsomeonewhoIthoughtwasverytalentedtorunthecompanywithme,andforthefirstyearorsothingswentwell.Butthenourvisionsofthefuturebegantodivergeandeventuallywehadafallingout.Whenwedid,ourBoardofDirectorssidedwithhim.Soat30Iwasout,andverypubliclyout.Whathadbeenthefocusofmyentireadultlifewasgone,anditwasdevastating.Ireallydidn’tknowwhattodoforafewmonths.IfeltthatIhadletthepreviousgenerationofentrepreneursdown—thatIhaddroppedthebatonasitwasbeingpassedtome.ImetwithDavidPackardandBobNoyceandtriedtoapologizeforscrewingupsobadly.Iwasaverypublicfailure,andIeventhoughtaboutrunningawayfromthevalley.Butsomethingslowlybegantodawnonme—IstilllovedwhatIdid.TheturnofeventsatApplehadnotchangedthatonebit.Ihadbeenrejected,butIwasstillinlove.AndsoIdecidedtostartover.Ididn’tseeitthen,butitturnedoutthatgettingfiredfromApplewasthebestthingthatcouldhaveeverhappenedtome.Theheavinessofbeingsuccessfulwasreplacedbythelightnessofbeingabeginneragain,lesssureabouteverything.Itfreedmetoenteroneofthemostcreativeperiodsofmylife.Duringthenextfiveyears,IstartedacompanynamedNeXT,anothercompanynamedPixar,andfellinlovewithanamazingwomanwhowouldbecomemywife.Pixarwentontocreatetheworld’sfirstcomputeranimatedfeaturefilm,ToyStoryandisnowthemostsuccessfulanimationstudiointheworld.Inaremarkableturnofevents,AppleboughtNeXT,andIreturnedtoApple,andthetechnologywedevelopedatNeXTisattheheartofApple’scurrentrenaissance.AndLaureneandIhaveawonderfulfamilytogether.I’mprettysurenoneofthiswouldhavehappenedifIhadn’tbeenfiredfromApple.Itwasawful-tastingmedicine,butIguessthepatientneededit.Sometimeslife’sgoingtohityouintheheadwithabrick.Don'tlosefaith.I’mconvincedthattheonlythingthatkeptmegoingwasthatIlovedwhatIdid.You’vegottofindwhatyoulove.Andthatisastrueforyourworkasitisforyourlovers.Yourworkisgoingtofillalargepartofyourlife,andtheonlywaytobetrulysatisfiedistodowhatyoubelieveisgreatwork.Andtheonlywaytodogreatworkistolovewhatyoudo.Ifyouhaven’tfoundityet,keeplooking,anddon’tsettle.Aswithallmattersoftheheart,you’llknowwhenyoufindit.And,likeanygreatrelationship,itjustgetsbetterandbetterastheyearsrollon.Sokeeplooking,don’tsettle.Mythirdstoryisaboutdeath.WhenIwas17,Ireadaquotethatwentsomethinglike:“Ifyouliveeachdayasifitwasyourlast,somedayyou’llmostcertainlyberight."Itmadeanimpressiononme,andsincethen,forthepast33years,Ihavelookedinthemirroreverymorningandaskedmyself:“Iftodaywerethelastdayofmylife,wouldIwanttodowhatIamabouttodotoday?"Andwhenevertheanswerhasbeen“No"fortoomanydaysinarow,IknowIneedtochangesomething.RememberingthatI’llbedeadsoonisthemostimportanttoolI’veeverencounteredtohelpmemakethebigchoicesinlife.Becausealmosteverything—allexternalexpectations,allpride,allfearofembarrassmentorfailure—thesethingsjustfallawayinthefaceofdeath,leavingonlywhatistrulyimportant.RememberingthatyouaregoingtodieisthebestwayIknowtoavoidthetrapofthinkingyouhavesomethingtolose.Youarealreadynaked.Thereisnoreasonnottofollowyourheart.AboutayearagoIwasdiagnosedwithcancer.Ihadascanat7:30inthemorning,anditclearlyshowedatumoronmypancreas.Ididn'tevenknowwhatapancreaswas.Thedoctorstoldmethiswasalmostcertainlyatypeofcancerthatisincurable,andthatIshouldexpecttolivenolongerthanthreetosixmonths.Mydoctoradvisedmetogohomeandgetmyaffairsinorder,whichisdoctor'scodeforpreparetodie.Itmeanstotrytotellyourkidseverythingyouthoughtyou'dhavethenext10yearstotelltheminjustafewmonths.Itmeanstomakesureeverythingisbuttonedupsothatitwillbeaseasyaspossibleforyourfamily.Itmeanstosayyourgoodbyes.Ilivedwiththatdiagnosisallday.LaterthateveningIhadabiopsy,wheretheystuckanendoscopedownmythroat,throughmystomachandintomyintestines,putaneedleintomypancreasandgotafewcellsfromthetumor.Iwassedated,butmywife,whowasthere,toldmethatwhentheyviewedthecellsunderamicroscope,thedoctorsstartedcrying,becauseitturnedouttobeaveryrareformofpancreaticcancerthatiscurablewithsurgery.Ihadthesurgeryandthankfully,I'mfinenow.ThiswastheclosestI'vebeentofacingdeath,andIhopeit'stheclosestIgetforafewmoredecades.Havinglivedthroughit,Icannowsaythistoyouwithabitmorecertaintythanwhendeathwasausefulbutpurelyintellectualconcept:Noonewantstodie.EvenpeoplewhowanttogotoHeavendon'twanttodietogetthere.Andyet,deathisthedestinationweallshare.Noonehaseverescapedit.Andthatisasitshouldbe,becauseDeathisverylikelythesinglebesinventionofLife.It'sLife'schangeagent.Itclearsouttheoldtomakewayforthenew.Rightnow,thenewisyou,butsomedaynottoolongfromnow,youwillgraduallybecometheoldandbeclearedaway.Sorrytobesodramatic,butitisquitetrue.Yourtimeislimited,sodon'twasteitlivingsomeoneelseSlife.Don'tbetrappedbydogma—whichislivingwiththeresultsofotherpeople'sthinking.Don'tletthenoiseofothers'opinionsdrownoutyourowninnervoice.Andmostimportant,havethecouragetofollowyourheartandintuition.Theysomehowalreadyknowwhatyoutrulywanttobecome.Everythingelseissecondary.WhenIwasyoung,therewasanamazingpublicationcalledTheWholeEarthCatalogwhichwasoneofthebiblesofmygeneration.ItwascreatedbyafellownamedStewartBrandnotfarfromhereinMenloPark,andhebroughtittolifewithhispoetictouch.Thiswasinthelate1960's,beforepersonalcomputersanddesktoppublishing,soitwasallmadewithtypewriters,scissors,andPolaroidcameras.ItwassortoflikeGoogleinpaperbackform,35yearsbeforeGooglecamealong:itwasidealistic,overflowingwithneattoolsandgreatnotions.StewartandhisteamputoutseveralissuesofTheWholeEarthCatalogandthenwhenithadrunitscourse,theyputoutafinalissue.Itwasthemid-1970s,andIwasyourage.Onthebackcoveroftheirfinalissuewasaphotographofanearlymorningcountryroad,thekindyoumightfindyourselfhitchhikingonifyouweresoadventurous.Beneathitwerethewords,“Stayhungry,stayfoolish."Itwastheirfarewellmessageastheysignedoff.Stayhungry,stayfoolish.AndIhavealwayswishedthatformyself.Andnow,asyougraduatetobeginanew,Iwishthatforyou:Stayhungry,stayfoolish.Thankyouallverymuch.我很榮幸今天能和各位在此參加這所世界上最佳學府之一的畢業(yè)典禮。說實話，我大學沒畢業(yè)，這是我第一次離大學畢業(yè)典禮這么近。今天我想給大家講三個我自己的故事，不講別的，也不講大道理，就講三個故事。第一個故事講的是串連生命中的點滴。我在里德學院(ReedCollege)只讀了六個月就退學了，此后便在學校里旁聽，又過了18個月，我才最終離開。那么，我為什么退學呢？這得從我出生前講起。我的生母是一名年輕的未婚在校研究生，她決定將我送給別人收養(yǎng)。她非常希望收養(yǎng)我的是有大學學歷的人，所以把一切都安排好了，我一出生就交給一對律師夫婦收養(yǎng)。沒想到我落地的霎那間，那對夫婦臨時決定收養(yǎng)一名女孩。就這樣，我的養(yǎng)父母一當時他們還在登記冊上排隊等著呢一當晚半夜三更接到一個電話：“我們這兒有一個沒人要的男嬰，你們要么？”當然?！彼麄兓卮稹５?，我的生母后來發(fā)現(xiàn)我的養(yǎng)母不是大學畢業(yè)生，我的養(yǎng)父甚至連高中都沒有畢業(yè)，所以她拒絕在最后的收養(yǎng)文件上簽字。不過，沒過幾個月她就心軟了，因為我的養(yǎng)父母許諾日后一定送我上大學。這就是我生命的開始。17年后，我真的進了大學。當時我很天真，選了一所幾乎和斯坦福大學一樣昂貴的學校，我那勞動階級的養(yǎng)父母傾其所有的積蓄為我支付了大學學費。讀了六個月后，我卻看不出其中的價值。我既不知道自己這一生想干什么，也不知道大學是否能夠幫我理出頭緒。可是我卻正在花光父母一輩子節(jié)省下來的錢了。所以，我決定退學，并且堅信日后會證明我這樣做是對的。當年做出這個決定時心里直打鼓，但現(xiàn)在回想起來，這還真是我有生以來做出的最好的決定之一。從退學那一刻起，我就可以不再上那些我毫無興趣的必修課，開始旁聽一些看上去有意思的課。那些日子一點兒都不浪漫。我沒有宿舍，只能睡在朋友房間的地板上。我去撿每個五美分的可樂瓶，用換來的錢來買吃的。每個星期天晚上我都要走七英里，到城那頭的黑爾-科里施納印度教寺廟去，吃每周才能享用一次的美餐。我愛死圣餐了。我憑著好奇心和直覺所干的這些事情，有許多后來都證明是無價之寶。我給大家舉個例子：當時，里德學院的書法課大概是全國最好的。校園里所有的公告欄和每個抽屜標簽上的字都寫得非常漂亮。當時我已經退學，不用正常上課，所以我決定選一門書法課，學學怎么寫好字。我學習寫帶短截線和不帶短截線的印刷字體，根據不同字母組合調整其間距，以及怎樣把版式調整得好上加好。這門課太棒了，既有歷史價值，又有藝術造詣，這一點科學就做不到，而我覺得它妙不可言。當時我并不指望這在以后的生活中能有什么實用價值。但是，十年之后，我們在設計第一臺麥金塔計算機時，它一下子浮現(xiàn)在我眼前。于是，我們把這些東西全都設計進了計算機中。這是第一臺有這么漂亮的文字字體的計算機。要不是我當初在大學里偶然選了這么一門課，Mac計算機絕不會有那么多種印刷字體或間距安排合理的字號。要不是Windows照搬了Mac，個人電腦可能就不會有這些字體和字號。要不是當初退了學，我也決不會碰巧選了這門書法課，個人電腦也可能不會有現(xiàn)在這些漂亮的字體了。當然，我在大學里不可能從這一點上看到它與將來的關系，十年之后再回頭看，兩者之間的關系就非常非常清楚了。重申，你們同樣不可能從現(xiàn)在這個點上看到將來；只有回頭看時，才會發(fā)現(xiàn)它們之間的關系。所以，要相信生命中的點滴遲早會連接到一起。你們必須信賴某些東西一一直覺、命運、生命，還有業(yè)力，等等。因為相信這些點滴終究會連結在一起，可以給你信心朝自己的理想邁進，就算是引領你遠離傳統(tǒng)的道路，那會很不同凡響。我的第二個故事是關于愛與失落的。我很幸運，在很小的時候就發(fā)現(xiàn)自己喜歡做什么。我在20歲時和沃茲（Woz,蘋果公司創(chuàng)始人之一Wozon的昵稱一一譯注）在我父母的車庫里辦起了蘋果公司。我們干得很賣力，十年后，蘋果公司就從車庫里我們兩個人發(fā)展成為一個擁有20億元資產、超過4000名員工的大企業(yè)。在那前一年，我們剛剛推出了我們最好的產品一一麥金塔電腦一一而我剛滿30歲。然后我被解雇了。你怎么會被自己辦的公司解雇呢？是這樣，隨著蘋果公司越做越大，我們聘了一位我認為非常有才華的人與我一道管理公司。在開始的一年多里，一切都很順利。可是，隨后我倆對公司前景的看法開始出現(xiàn)分歧，最后我倆反目了。這時，董事會站在了他那一邊，所以在30歲那年，我離開了公司，而且這件事鬧得滿城風雨。我成年后的整個生活重心都沒有了，這使我心力交瘁?！B幾個月，我真的不知道應該怎么辦。我感到自己給老一代的創(chuàng)業(yè)者丟了臉一一因為我把交到自己手里的接力棒接丟了。我去見了戴維■帕卡德（DavidPackard，惠普公司創(chuàng)始人之一一一譯注）和鮑勃■諾伊斯（BobNoyce，英特爾公司創(chuàng)建者之一一一譯注），想為把事情搞得這么糟糕說聲道歉。這次失敗弄得沸沸揚揚的，我甚至想過逃離硅谷。但是，漸漸地，我開始有了一個想法一一我仍然熱愛我過去做的一切。在蘋果公司發(fā)生的這些風波絲毫沒有改變這一點。我雖然被拒之門外，但我仍然深愛我的事業(yè)。于是，我決定從頭開始。雖然當時我并沒有意識到，但事實證明，被蘋果公司解雇是我一生中碰到的最好的事情。盡管前景未卜，但從頭開始的輕松感取代了保持成功的沉重感。這使我進入了一生中最富有創(chuàng)造力的時期之一。在此后的五年里，我創(chuàng)立了NeXT，另一家是皮克斯（Pixar）,我還愛上一位了不起的女人，后來成了我的妻子。皮克斯推出了世界上第一部用電腦制作的動畫片《玩具總動員》（ToyStory）,它現(xiàn)在是全球最成功的動畫制作室。在一個特別的機緣下，蘋果公司買下了NeXT，我又回到了蘋果公司，我們在NeXT公司開發(fā)的技術成了蘋果公司這次重新崛起的核心。我和勞倫（Laurene）也建立了美滿的家庭。我確信，如果不是被蘋果公司解雇，這一切決不可能發(fā)生。這是一劑苦藥，可我認為良藥苦口利于病。有時生活會當頭給你一棒，但不要灰心。我堅信讓我一往無前的唯一力量就是我熱愛我所做的一切。你一定得知道自己喜歡什么，選擇愛人時如此，選擇工作時同樣如此。工作將是生活中的一大部分，讓自己真正滿意的唯一辦法，是做自己認為是有意義的工作；做有意義的工作的唯一辦法，是熱愛自己的工作。你們如果還沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)自己喜歡什么，那就不斷地去尋找，不要半途而廢。就像一切要憑著感覺去做的事情一樣，一旦找到了自己喜歡的事，感覺就會告訴你。就像任何一種美妙的東西，歷久彌新。所以說，要不斷地尋找，不要半途而廢。我的第三個故事與死亡有關。17歲那年，我讀到過這樣一段話，大意是“如果把每一天都當作