Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

Tinat Atifa Masood
3 min readFeb 20, 2024

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Photo by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash

Stay Hungry Stay Foolish is a phrase that has been popularized by Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, in his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University. However, the origin of the phrase can be traced back to the Whole Earth Catalog, a science magazine that was published between 1968 and 197⁴¹. The phrase was printed on the back cover of the final edition of the magazine, above a picture of a country road².

The phrase is meant to inspire people to pursue their passions, to challenge themselves, and to keep learning new things. It also encourages people to be adventurous, creative, and unconventional. The phrase uses negative words like hungry and foolish in a positive way, to convey the idea of being dissatisfied with the status quo and being willing to take risks³.

Some examples of how the phrase can be applied to different fields and situations are:

  1. In business, staying hungry means seeking new opportunities, expanding one’s market, and innovating one’s products or services. Staying foolish means ignoring the naysayers, experimenting with new ideas, and learning from failures.
  2. In education, staying hungry means being curious, asking questions, and exploring new subjects. Staying foolish means challenging the existing knowledge, thinking critically, and creating original solutions.
  3. In art, staying hungry means expressing one’s vision, finding one’s voice, and reaching new audiences. Staying foolish means breaking the rules, experimenting with different forms, and being authentic.

The phrase Stay Hungry Stay Foolish has become a motto for many people who aspire to achieve personal and professional growth. It is a reminder to never settle, never stop, and never be afraid to try something new.

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

¹: [What does the phrase \”Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish\” mean?](¹^)
²: [\”Stay hungry, stay foolish\” — Meaning, Context & Examples — Linguaholic](²^)
³: [Stay Hungry Stay Foolish — Steve Jobs | Abstract GD Topic 2023 — MBA Karlo](³^).

Source:
(1) What does the phrase “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish” mean?. https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/44538/what-does-the-phrase-stay-hungry-stay-foolish-mean.
(2) “Stay hungry, stay foolish” — Meaning, Context & Examples — Linguaholic. https://linguaholic.com/linguablog/stay-hungry-stay-foolish/.
(3) Stay Hungry Stay Foolish — Steve Jobs | Abstract GD Topic 2023 — MBA Karlo. https://mbakarlo.com/stay-hungry-stay-foolish/.
(4) What does the phrase “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish” mean?. https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/44538/what-does-the-phrase-stay-hungry-stay-foolish-mean.
(5) “Stay hungry, stay foolish” — Meaning, Context & Examples — Linguaholic. https://linguaholic.com/linguablog/stay-hungry-stay-foolish/.
(6) Stay Hungry Stay Foolish — Steve Jobs | Abstract GD Topic 2023 — MBA Karlo. https://mbakarlo.com/stay-hungry-stay-foolish/.
(7) Stay Hungry Stay Foolish — Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stay_Hungry_Stay_Foolish.
(8) goodreads.com. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4765642-stay-hungry-stay-foolish.

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Tinat Atifa Masood

A dreamer by birth, a writer by choice and a lover by default!