喬布斯斯坦福大學(xué)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(xué)府之一的畢業(yè)典禮。說實(shí)話，我大學(xué)沒畢業(yè)，這是我第一次離大學(xué)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(diǎn)滴。我在里德學(xué)院(ReedCollege)只讀了六個月就退學(xué)了，此后便在學(xué)校里旁聽，又過了18個月，我才最終離開。那么，我為什么退學(xué)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(xué)學(xué)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(dāng)時他們還在登記冊上排隊等著呢一當(dāng)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(dāng)然?！彼麄兓卮?。但是，我的生母后來發(fā)現(xiàn)我的養(yǎng)母不是大學(xué)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(xué)。這就是我生命的開始。17年后，我真的進(jìn)了大學(xué)。當(dāng)時我很天真，選了一所幾乎和斯坦福大學(xué)一樣昂貴的學(xué)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(xué)學(xué)費(fèi)。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(xué)是否能夠幫我理出頭緒?？墒俏覅s正在花光父母一輩子節(jié)省下來的錢了。所以，我決定退學(xué)，并且堅信日后會證明我這樣做是對的。當(dāng)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(xué)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(diǎn)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(dāng)時，里德學(xué)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(biāo)簽上的字都寫得非常漂亮。當(dāng)時我已經(jīng)退學(xué)，不用正常上課，所以我決定選一門書法課，學(xué)學(xué)怎么寫好字。我學(xué)習(xí)寫帶短截線和不帶短截線的印刷字體，根據(jù)不同字母組合調(diào)整其間距，以及怎樣把版式調(diào)整得好上加好。這門課太棒了，既有歷史價值，又有藝術(shù)造詣，這一點(diǎn)科學(xué)就做不到，而我覺得它妙不可言。當(dāng)時我并不指望這在以后的生活中能有什么實(shí)用價值。但是，十年之后，我們在設(shè)計第一臺麥金塔計算機(jī)時，它一下子浮現(xiàn)在我眼前。于是，我們把這些東西全都設(shè)計進(jìn)了計算機(jī)中。這是第一臺有這么漂亮的文字字體的計算機(jī)。要不是我當(dāng)初在大學(xué)里偶然選了這么一門課，Mac計算機(jī)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(dāng)初退了學(xué)，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(dāng)然，我在大學(xué)里不可能從這一點(diǎn)上看到它與將來的關(guān)系，十年之后再回頭看，兩者之間的關(guān)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(diǎn)上看到將來；只有回頭看時，才會發(fā)現(xiàn)它們之間的關(guān)系。所以，要相信生命中的點(diǎn)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(yùn)、生命，還有業(yè)力，等等。因為相信這些點(diǎn)滴終究會連結(jié)在一起，可以給你信心朝自己的理想邁進(jìn)，就算是引領(lǐng)你遠(yuǎn)離傳統(tǒng)的道路，那會很不同凡響。我的第二個故事是關(guān)于愛與失落的。我很幸運(yùn)，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(chǎn)、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(chǎn)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(rèn)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(fēng)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(yīng)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(yáng)揚(yáng)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(fēng)波絲毫沒有改變這一點(diǎn)。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(dāng)時我并沒有意識到，但事實(shí)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(jìn)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(jī)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(shù)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(rèn)為良藥苦口利于病。有時生活會當(dāng)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(rèn)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?nèi)绻€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(guān)。17歲那年，我讀到過這樣一段話，大意是“如果把每一天都當(dāng)作