Life Lessons: Steve Jobs commencement address at Stanford, 2005
I recently came across Steve Jobs’ commencement address to Stanford University graduates. The year was 2005. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but surgery would help him live until his death in 2011.
He had three important things to tell those assembled:
- You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.
- Don’t settle.
- Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
I’ve attached the full transcripts of these remarks. Those three items, and the rest of what he said, are just as valid now as they were then. You can read the text below, or skip to the bottom and watch the video.
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
