Summary of ENGLISH SPEECH | STEVE JOBS: Stanford Speech(English Subtitles)

Summary of Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement Speech

In his commencement speech at Stanford University, Steve Jobs shares three significant stories from his life, each conveying important lessons about following one's passion, dealing with adversity, and embracing mortality.

Main Ideas and Concepts:

Dropping Out and Following Curiosity:
- Jobs recounts his decision to drop out of Reed College after six months, realizing that he was spending his parents' savings without seeing the value in it.
- He emphasizes the importance of following one's curiosity and intuition, which led him to take a calligraphy class that later influenced the design of the Macintosh computer.
- Key Lesson: You can't connect the dots looking forward, only backward. Trust that the dots will connect in your future.
Love and Loss:
- Jobs discusses his early success with Apple and the pain of being fired from the company he co-founded at the age of 30.
- Instead of succumbing to despair, he found new opportunities and creativity, leading to the founding of NeXT and Pixar, and ultimately returning to Apple.
- Key Lesson: Find what you love, and don’t settle. Your work should be something you are passionate about.
Facing Death:
- He reflects on his brush with death after being diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer, which made him reconsider what is truly important in life.
- Jobs stresses that death is a natural part of life and serves as a catalyst for change and growth.
- Key Lesson: Live each day as if it were your last, follow your heart, and don’t be trapped by others' opinions.

Methodology/Instructions:

Trust in Your Journey:
- Follow your curiosity and intuition.
- Be open to unexpected opportunities that arise from setbacks.
Find Your Passion:
- Seek out work that you love and believe in.
- Don’t settle for anything less than what fulfills you.
Embrace Mortality:
- Reflect on your life regularly and assess if you are on the right path.
- Use the awareness of your mortality to prioritize what truly matters.
Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish:
- Maintain a sense of curiosity and a willingness to take risks throughout your life.

Speakers/Sources Featured:

Steve Jobs - Main speaker and source of the stories and lessons shared in the speech.

Notable Quotes

— 07:11 — « Getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. »

— 08:05 — « Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. »

— 08:11 — « 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. »

— 11:24 — « Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. »

— 11:50 — « Don’t waste it living someone else’s life. »