A Lesson from Steve Jobs

April 18, 2012 • Lauren McMullin, Opinion Editor  
Filed under Opinion

Steve Jobs – Everyone knows him as the man that created Apple, the man that brought the evolution from CD players to iPods, and also introduced us to iTouchs, iPads, iPhones, and iMacs.  He not only created Apple, but he also started various other companies such as Pixar.  With Jobs work he has transformed the world’s technology, and changed millions of lives.  The only question left is: What can we learn from him?

In 2005, Steve Jobs addressed the graduating class at Stanford University.  He told them different stories from his life.  He began by talking about how he was a college drop out because his parents were spending their life savings on it, and it was much too expensive. 

“It wasn’t all romantic. I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple.” Jobs said.

Despite the odds of having not graduated from college, Jobs found a way to accomplish his dreams.  He kept learning, he did not give up just because he was out of the college picture.  He believed in himself.

The second story he told was about getting fired from Apple.  He said that as much as getting fired was terrible, it was also one of the best things to happen to him.  He then started the new company NeXT, which was later bought by Apple, bringing him back to his old company.

“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything.”

Jobs teaches us all a lesson in this specific circumstance, by being able to rise from his complete and utter decline.  It shows that he didn’t give up; instead, it led to greater things for him along the road.  Without him getting fired from his own company, he may not have been able to accomplish and create everything that he did.  Jobs truly pursued his dream, even when other people squashed his dream in his face. 

“Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love.” Jobs said. 

 “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.”

Jobs advice on finding what you love to do is completely true.  Finding that may be a challenge, especially if you are a very indecisive person like I am.  But we know the search is worth it, in the end.

Jobs ends his speech by wishing the Stanford graduates to “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”  This statement is the best advice anyone could take away from him.  Jobs was always learning, and building onto his education or as it says “Stay hungry”.  Even when we are older, and graduated from college, we can still always be learning from life.  We all need to “stay foolish”, and remember that we are not all-powerful or all-knowing, in any subject.

Jobs has not only changed the world with his technology, but has given us all a fresh new perspective with the way he led his life.                                                                                                                             

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