Introduction:
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the
present.”
― Bill Keane
In 2005 the late Steve Jobs gave a speech graduating students at Stanford University. For those that
do not know Steve Jobs is a was an American entrepreneur (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011)
who is most well-known as the co-founder of Apple, now largest tech company in terms of revenue.
He gave advice to students about life, talking about his own trials giving first hand testimonies and
tips on how to succeed. Jobs' speech is the most-watched commencement speech of all time followed
three stories from his life: one, in which he tells an anecdote about dropping out of college; another,
about the lessons he learned from being fired by Apple in 1985; and lastly, his reflections on death.
Part 1-Conecting the Dots:
You can’t connect the doth looking forward; You can only connect them looking backwards-Steve
Jobs. The first part of his speech he talks about the early life, college and the beginnings of Apple.
Six months into college Job’s dropped out and joined the calligraphy class offered at Reeds college
Where he learned about serif and san serif
type phases and what made great typography.
“Small shifts in your thinking, and small
changes in your actions, can lead to massive
alterations of your end result.”
― Kevin Michel.
Ten years down the line when Steve and his
friend Steve Wozniak were making the first mac the time Steve invested in calligraphy class bore fruit
and they included everything in the mac making it the first computer with proper typography. This is
a great example of the butterfly effect if Steve never dropped in on the calligraphy class personal
computers may not have proper typography. Just remember every decision you make has the potential
change the course of your life.
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Part 2- Love and Loss:
“Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”- Lord Alfred Tennyson
Steve was lucky to have found what he loved early on in life but he did not keep it without loss. Ten
years after the launch of the first mac Steve was publicly fired from Apple.
“One cannot stay at the top without someone trying to bring you down”
Steve made the mistake of letting someone who wanted to be at the top close to him and when he
least expected it he was out. But he still loved what he did, over the next five years he founded 2
companies NeXT and PIXAR and fell in love with his wife Laurene Powell Jobs. Pixar made the first
fully animated movie (TOY STORY) and rose as the largest animation studio in the world and in a
surprising turn of events NeXT was bought by Apple and Steve was back in. And the technology
developed at NeXT was integrated in Apples newest products. Only if you love what you do, will you
be able to persist this is what drove Steve Jobs to keep on going even though he fell hard. You must
strive to do what you love even if you lose something on the way there.
PIXAR MARKET SHARE ON ANIMATED CONTET
GROWTH OF APPLE SINCE RE-HIRING OF STEVE JOBS
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Part 3- Death:
It is common knowledge that Steve died of cancer butt what he said about death is hailed as one of
the most perspective talks. "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly
be right” this is the quote that made Steve inspire for greatness. It shows us how death is the greatest
motivator for success as other lesser problems fade away in face of death. We should ask ourself
everyday if this is what you want to be doing on your final day. If the answer in no to many times in
a row, then you know there needs to be a change. We should focus on our own success and ignore
others’ opinions lest you get dragged down with them. It is crucial for everybody to remember that
death is inevitable and we must strive to leave our make on this Earth before it is our time to go.
Part 4-Conclusion-
To summarise, Steve’s speech touches upon the 3 of life’s most salient points. First, you can’t predict
the outcome of the decisions you make you can only do what you feel is right at the time and trust it
won’t come back to bite you. The second, the only way to be satisfied with what we do is to feel like
we’ve done something great and the only way to something great is to do something you love. Lastly,
we must live every day as if it is out last because one day it will be true. Death is the destination we
all share and we have to make the life we live count. I would like to end this with a quote-
"Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness
thrust upon them." --William Shakespeare
