User:Zackwolfe/sandbox

Steve Jobs, the former CEO of Apple and Pixar delivered a commencement speech to the graduates of Stanford University on June twelfth in two thousand and five, in which he encouraged the crowd to find something they loved and the cultural significance of death. A New York Times article recalls the speech as "...undoubtedly account[ing] for its reputation as the greatest commencement speech in history." (iToo ...Could Have Known Steve Jobs. Or Did I?). After an introduction by the current Stanford president at the time John Hennessey which included Jobs’ various accomplishments and a round of applause to welcome the speaker himself, Jobs steps to the microphone on a beautiful spring day and begins his speech. Starting the commencement speech on a humorous note he states that “Truth be told I never graduated from college and this is the closet I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation.”(Text of Steve Jobs' Commencement Speech). After fighting through some giggles he lets the audience know he will be telling them three stories. The first story summarized his short-lived experience in college and how it was instrumental to his life. Although he noted that he dropped out after six months he stated that it is important to trust that the knowledge you acquire will “…give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path and that will make all the difference.”(Text of Steve Jobs' Commencement Speech). theme of finding something you love to do in life is the central significance of his speech. The second story outlined his rise and fall at Apple and how it helped him realize that he still deeply loved what he did. Jobs described that this reenergized him to “…enter one of the most creative periods of [his] life.”(Text of Steve Jobs' Commencement Speech). When he meet his wife, founded Pixar, and eventually returned to Apple. Jobs encouraged the students to do the same when faced with adversity as he did when he got fired from Apple and to not lose faith. He explained to the students that the only thing that kept him going when he encountered tribulations is that he loved what he did. Jobs ended his second story by insisting the gradates also find what they love to do. Jobs’ third story urges students that their time is limited and death is inevitable. He has an interesting perspective on death naming it the “…single best invention of life.”(Text of Steve Jobs' Commencement Speech). Jobs thinks this because it clears out the old ideas and makes room for the new ones that are contained by the people in the crowd. After reviewing a short recap of his experience with pancreatic cancer he begins to wrap up by reinstating the main theme of his speech, to follow your heart. Finally, he recalls an idiom in the final edition of a publication he read when he was younger, The Whole Earth Catalog by Stewart Brand, “stay hungry, stay foolish” which was a seamless way for Jobs to leave the podium for this saying reinstates the moral of his speech. Sources:

The quotations are from the source: "Text of Steve Jobs' Commencement Speech." News.stanford.edu. N.p., 14 June 2005. Web. . Ephron/New York Times, N. (2011, October 15). iToo ...Could Have Known Steve Jobs. Or Did I? Retrieved October 23, 2013, from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/opinion/sunday/itoo-could-have-known-steve-jobs-or-did-i