On June 12, 2005, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs (1955–2011) delivered his iconic commencement speech at Stanford University, one of the most prestigious institutions in the United States. The speech, later known for its closing line 'Stay hungry. Stay foolish,' is considered one of the most impactful commencement addresses in history.

Despite being delivered by a tech industry leader, the speech barely touched on technology. Instead, Jobs spoke about fundamental human truths: love, death, fear, instinct, and hope. According to the Steve Jobs Archive, Jobs was anxious about speaking before graduates of a top research university, having dropped out of college himself. He spent six months collecting drafts and ideas via email, and with his wife Lauren's help, wrote the speech just weeks before the ceremony.

During the 15-minute address, many students in the audience were distracted and failed to fully grasp its significance until later. Days after the ceremony, Jobs responded to thank-you letters from the university, saying: 'Thank you all very much. Preparing for this was really very difficult for me. But I enjoyed it (especially when it was over).'

Jobs shared three stories from his life. The first was about connecting the dots. He dropped out of Reed College after six months but continued auditing classes for another 18 months. He took a calligraphy course that seemed useless at the time, but a decade later, those skills gave the Macintosh computer its beautiful typography.

The second story was about love and loss. Jobs was fired from Apple at age 30, but called it the best thing that ever happened to him. He went on to found NeXT and Pixar, and later returned to Apple.

The third story was about death. Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer but recovered after surgery. He urged graduates to remember death as a tool to avoid the trap of thinking they have something to lose.

Jobs concluded: 'Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.'

Source: www.gazeta.uz