Transcript for Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech
I’ve always thought that becoming successful meant having to get good grades, going to class on time, making sure you pass the class and sucking up to professors. But in the end, does it really matter? What is college all about? What is the promise of going to college?
Alan Watts, a philosopher from the 1950’s, thinks we’ve been deceived into thinking that taking on the traditional route in life will bring you success. This promise is why people go to school:
Do good in pre-school then move to first grade, then second grade, until you reach high school, then do well on your SATs to get into a ivy league university so you can get a good internship and finally a six-figure-income job.
You get the point. Realistically, it’s a promise with no guarantees. There are so many factors that can change your success rate weather it be the industry you’re in, the economy, and many other things we might not have seen coming. The things you really learn in college is your survival skills, not what you read in the textbooks. Its things like how you interact with people, handle stress, time planning, doing your laundry, etc.
Your professors and teachers don’t promise you how to get rich. If they knew, they probably wouldn’t waste their time on you. Remembering that private universities are very lucrative businesses is a sure way to make you think twice about your major. Times have changed, especially with the internet, you can learn many of the things you want to know by just searching Google or YouTube. Some of us just don’t bother looking for it.
The sooner you take control of your life and direct it, the faster you will get to your destination. Break out of your mold. Stop relying on the promise of educational institutions. There is no promised route to your success. The only sure way is to do what you love doing. Learn what you love to do. Somewhere along the way, the dots will surely connect.
You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and 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. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.
- Steve Jobs
Music and Life - Alan Watts