stay hungry, stay foolish

“Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” These are the four simple English words that caught attention as we read through Steve Jobs’ commencement speech. What do these words really mean? In his speech, he tells us that everything happens for a reason. You won’t be able to see your future but as time passes you will understand why certain things happen. As he continues to tell us his story, he talks about the opportunities he gained as he lost what he loved most. Finally in his last story he talks about having the courage to follow what your heart desires because time is limited. Each part of this speech tells a different scenario that took place in his life, and each part inspired me to look at my life in a different way. Through his stories of “Connecting the dots,” to “love and loss,” and “death”, Jobs has become one the most influential man in this world.

As the son of average working-class parents, Jobs was only able to receive a minimal amount of financial support of them. Even then Job’s still chose Reeds College, a college that had the tuition on the same level as Stanford. After six months of college Jobs decided that it would be best for him to drop out of college. “It was pretty scary at the time,” said Jobs, “but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made.” (1) Many people would consider this a terrible choice, but by doing so Jobs gave the world a whole new way to life. Coming to Penn State Brandywine was never my choice. I knew from the start that I would not enjoy college life because it’s a commuter school. After having several arguments with my parents, it was finally decided that I would attend Brandywine and set main campus as my goal. At the time, it seemed to me like my college life would be over. I would never be able to enjoy the college life all my friends tell me about. Looking back now, attending Brandywine turned out to be a life changing experience for me. I was able to meet my best friend and find what I want to do for the rest of my life. As Steve Jobs said “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” ( 2 ) This quote tells us that everything happens for a reason. Whether for the good or bad, life will eventually work itself out for you. Ten years from now, I will look back and see that everything in my life has happen for a reason. By finding what you love and work hard to achieve your goal, life will take you on the right path.

Life sometimes throw obstacles at us to give us hardship and choose different paths. These can go from small daily choices to major life changes that can determine our future. Loving what you do is very important. Steve Jobs loved what he did. At the age of 20, he and his best friend, Woz, started Apple in his parent’s garage. After ten years, Apple went from a small garage project to a $2 billion dollar corporation. As Jobs slowly reach the peak of his career, life decided that it was best to knock him off his balance. As a fall out took place between the two leaders of Apple, the board of directors decided to side with his partner. “So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire life was gone, and it was devastating,” (2) says Jobs. It was difficult at first for Jobs to accept that fact that he was fired from his own company. Being as the man he is, he decided to take his next step as an entrepreneur and move onto a new project. He described it as “The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again.” (2) Jobs turned his situation into the most creative period of his life as he moved onto his next projects; NeXT and Pixar. NeXT was eventually bought by Apple and used as the core of their PCs while Pixar moved on to being the most successful animation studio in the world. Going back to his first story, life threw a huge obstacle in his way. Instead of being melancholy about it, he saw it as an opportunity to achieve for more. “Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith,” (3) says Jobs. Don’t waste time thinking about the past. Find other ways to achieve your goal.

“Death is very likely the single best invention of life.” (4) Most people believe that life is long so you can take your time to slowly achieve your goal. In reality that is not true. Life is short and your time is limited. People don’t realize what they really want to do with their lives until death is around the corner. At a young age, Jobs was diagnosed with a rare case of pancreas cancer. One which was first deemed incurable. “This was the closest I’ve been to facing death,” says Jobs, “and I hope it’s the closest I get for a few more decades.” (3) Facing death taught Job’s a lesson on the value of time. Instead of living in another man’s shoes, Jobs took his future into his own hands. He did not waste time thinking about what others would think or would do but instead decided that life is too valuable to be “living someone else’s life.”(4) I have always taken life for granted. Listening to Steve Jobs’ speech made me think more about the time I have wasted and what I could have accomplished in the lost time. At the same time, I realized that even though I wasted my first two years of college, I also found the career of my dreams. Instead of wasting time regretting what I have done, I will focus my time doing what I can do from here on.

As Steve Jobs finish telling his last story, he leaves the graduating students of Stanford a final message, “Stay Hungry. Stay foolish.” This quote sums up everything main point in each of his stories. Always achieve for more. Don’t waste time regretting the mistakes you’ve made. Harness the intellect you gained from your mistakes and avoid making the same mistakes again. At the end of the day, all the dots will connect forming reasons as to why things have happened in your life. I won’t waste my time regretting the time I have wasted and the mistakes I have made. These time and mistakes have taught me more than words can, and through them I found the path I want to take with my life. My time is limited and so is yours so “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”(4) Through his stories of “Connecting the dots,” to “love and loss,” and “death”, Jobs has become one the most influential man in this world.