Thankyou.I'mhonoredtobewithyoutodayforyourcommencement fromoneofthefinestuniversitiesintheworld.Truthbetold,I nevergraduatedfromcollegeandthisistheclosestI'veevergotten toacollegegraduation. TodayIwanttotellyouthreestoriesfrommylife.That'sit.No bigdeal.Justthreestories.Thefirststoryisaboutconnectingthe dots. IdroppedoutofReedCollegeafterthefirstsixmonthsbutthen stayedaroundasadropinforanothereighteenmonthsorsobeforeI reallyquit.SowhydidIdropout?ItstartedbeforeIwasborn.My biologicalmotherwasayoung,unwedgraduatestudent,andshe decidedtoputmeupforadoption.ShefeltverystronglythatI shouldbeadoptedbycollegegraduates,soeverythingwasallsetfor metobeadoptedatbirthbyalawyerandhiswife,exceptthatwhen Ipoppedout,theydecidedatthelastminutethattheyreallywanted agirl.Somyparents,whowereonawaitinglist,gotacallinthe middleofthenightasking,"We'vegotanunexpectedbabyboy.Doyou wanthim?"Theysaid,"Ofcourse."Mybiologicalmotherfoundout laterthatmymotherhadnevergraduatedfromcollegeandthatmy fatherhadnevergraduatedfromhighschool.Sherefusedtosignthe finaladoptionpapers.Sheonlyrelentedafewmonthslaterwhenmy parentspromisedthatIwouldgotocollege. Thiswasthestartinmylife.Andseventeenyearslater,Ididgoto college,butInavelychoseacollegethatwasalmostasexpensive asStanford,andallofmyworkingclassparents'savingswerebeing spentonmycollegetuition.Aftersixmonths,Icouldn'tseethe valueinit.IhadnoideawhatIwantedtodowithmylife,andno ideaofhowcollegewasgoingtohelpmefigureitout,andhereI was,spendingallthemoneymyparentshadsavedtheirentirelife. SoIdecidedtodropoutandtrustthatitwouldallworkoutOK.It wasprettyscaryatthetime,butlookingback,itwasoneofthe bestdecisionsIevermade.TheminuteIdroppedout,Icouldstop takingtherequiredclassesthatdidn'tinterestmeandbegin droppinginontheonesthatlookedfarmoreinteresting.

Itwasn'tallromantic.Ididn'thaveadormroom,soIsleptonthe floorinfriends'rooms.IreturnedCokebottlesforthefivecent depositstobuyfoodwith,andIwouldwalkthesevenmilesacross towneverySundaynighttogetonegoodmealaweekattheHare Krishnatemple.Ilovedit.AndmuchofwhatIstumbledintoby followingmycuriosityandintuitionturnedouttobepricelesslater on.Letmegiveyouoneexample. ReedCollegeatthattimeofferedperhapsthebestcalligraphyinstructioninthe country.Throughoutthecampuseveryposter,everylabeloneverydrawerwas beautifullyhandcalligraphed.BecauseIhaddroppedoutanddidn'thavetotakethe normalclasses,Idecidedtotakeacalligraphyclasstolearnhowtodothis.Ilearned aboutserifandsansseriftypefaces,aboutvaryingtheamountofspacebetween differentlettercombinations,aboutwhatmakesgreattypographygreat.Itwas beautiful,historical,artisticallysubtleinawaythatsciencecan'tcapture,andIfound itfascinating. Noneofthishadevenahopeofanypracticalapplicationinmylife. ButtenyearslaterwhenweweredesigningthefirstMacintosh computer,itallcamebacktome,andwedesigneditallintothe Mac.Itwasthefirstcomputerwithbeautifultypography.IfIhad neverdroppedinonthatsinglecourseincollege,theMacwouldhave neverhadmultipletypefacesorproportionallyspacedfonts,and sinceWindowsjustcopiedtheMac,it'slikelythatnopersonal computerwouldhavethem. IfIhadneverdroppedout,Iwouldhaveneverdroppedinonthat calligraphyclassandpersonalscomputersmightnothavethe wonderfultypographythattheydo. Ofcourseitwasimpossibletoconnectthedotslookingforwardwhen Iwasincollege,butitwasvery,veryclearlookingbackwards10 yearslater.Again,youcan'tconnectthedotslookingforward.You canonlyconnectthemlookingbackwards,soyouhavetotrustthat thedotswillsomehowconnectinyourfuture.Youhavetotrustin somethingyourgut,destiny,life,karma,whateverbecause believingthatthedotswillconnectdowntheroadwillgiveyouthe

confidencetofollowyourheart,evenwhenitleadsyouoffthewell wornpath,andthatwillmakeallthedifference. Mysecondstoryisaboutloveandloss.Iwaslucky.IfoundwhatI lovedtodoearlyinlife.WozandIstartedAppleinmyparents' garagewhenIwastwenty.Weworkedhardandintenyears,Applehad grownfromjustthetwoofusinagarageintoa$2billioncompany withover4,000employees.We'djustreleasedourfinestcreation, theMacintosh,ayearearlier,andI'djustturnedthirty,andthenI gotfired.Howcanyougetfiredfromacompanyyoustarted?Well,as Applegrew,wehiredsomeonewhoIthoughtwasverytalentedtorun thecompanywithme,andforthefirstyearorso,thingswentwell. Butthenourvisionsofthefuturebegantodiverge,andeventually wehadafallingout.Whenwedid,ourboardofdirectorssidedwith him,andsoatthirty,Iwasout,andverypubliclyout.Whathad beenthefocusofmyentireadultlifewasgone,anditwas devastating.Ireallydidn'tknowwhattodoforafewmonths.Ifelt thatIhadletthepreviousgenerationofentrepreneursdown,thatI haddroppedthebatonasitwasbeingpassedtome.ImetwithDavid PackardandBobNoyceandtriedtoapologizeforscrewingupso badly.IwasaverypublicfailureandIeventhoughtaboutrunning awayfromtheValley.Butsomethingslowlybegantodawnonme.I stilllovedwhatIdid.TheturnofeventsatApplehadnotchanged thatonebit.I'dbeenrejectedbutIwasstillinlove.AndsoI decidedtostartover. woodytoystory.jpgIdidn'tseeitthen,butitturnedoutthatgettingfiredfromApple wasthebestthingthatcouldhaveeverhappenedtome.Theheavinessofbeing successfulwasreplacedbythelightnessofbeingabeginneragain,lesssureabout everything.Itfreedmetoenteroneofthe mostcreativeperiodsinmylife.DuringthenextfiveyearsIstartedacompany namedNeXT,anothercompanynamedPixarandfellinlovewithanamazingwoman whowouldbecomemywife.Pixarwentontocreatetheworld'sfirstcomputer animatedfeaturefilm,"ToyStory,"andisnowthemostsuccessfulanimationstudio intheworld. Inaremarkableturnofevents,AppleboughtNeXTandIreturnedto AppleandthetechnologywedevelopedatNeXTisattheheartof Apple'scurrentrenaissance,andLoreneandIhaveawonderfulfamily

together. I'mprettysurenoneofthiswouldhavehappenedifIhadn'tbeen firedfromApple.ItwasawfultastingmedicinebutIguessthe patientneededit.Sometimeslife'sgoingtohityouintheheadwith abrick.Don'tlosefaith.I'mconvincedthattheonlythingthat keptmegoingwasthatIlovedwhatIdid.You'vegottofindwhat youlove,andthatisastrueforworkasitisforyourlovers.Your workisgoingtofillalargepartofyourlife,andtheonlywayto betrulysatisfiedistodowhatyoubelieveisgreatwork,andthe onlywaytodogreatworkistolovewhatyoudo.Ifyouhaven't foundityet,keeplooking,anddon'tsettle.Aswithallmattersof theheart,you'llknowwhenyoufindit,andlikeanygreat relationshipitjustgetsbetterandbetterastheyearsrollon.So keeplooking.Don'tsettle. Mythirdstoryisaboutdeath.WhenIwas17Ireadaquotethatwent somethinglike"Ifyouliveeachdayasifitwasyourlast,someday you'llmostcertainlyberight."Itmadeanimpressiononme,and sincethen,forthepast33years,Ihavelookedinthemirrorevery morningandaskedmyself,"Iftodaywerethelastdayofmylife, wouldIwanttodowhatIamabouttodotoday?"Andwheneverthe answerhasbeen"no"fortoomanydaysinarow,IknowIneedto changesomething.RememberingthatI'llbedeadsoonisthemost importantthingI'veeverencounteredtohelpmemakethebigchoices inlife,becausealmosteverythingallexternalexpectations,all pride,allfearofembarrassmentorfailurethesethingsjustfall awayinthefaceofdeath,leavingonlywhatistrulyimportant. RememberingthatyouaregoingtodieisthebestwayIknowtoavoid thetrapofthinkingyouhavesomethingtolose.Youarealready naked.Thereisnoreasonnottofollowyourheart. Aboutayearago,Iwasdiagnosedwithcancer.Ihadascanat7:30 inthemorninganditclearlyshowedatumoronmypancreas.Ididn't evenknowwhatapancreaswas.Thedoctorstoldmethiswasalmost certainlyatypeofcancerthatisincurable,andthatIshould expecttolivenolongerthanthreetosixmonths.Mydoctoradvised metogohomeandgetmyaffairsinorder,whichisdoctors'codefor "preparetodie."Itmeanstotryandtellyourkidseverythingyou

thoughtyou'dhavethenexttenyearstotellthem,injustafew months.Itmeanstomakesurethateverythingisbuttonedupsothat itwillbeaseasyaspossibleforyourfamily.Itmeanstosayyour goodbyes. Ilivedwiththatdiagnosisallday.LaterthateveningIhada biopsywheretheystuckanendoscopedownmythroat,throughmy stomachintomyintestines,putaneedleintomypancreasandgota fewcellsfromthetumor.Iwassedatedbutmywife,whowasthere, toldmethatwhentheyviewedthecellsunderamicroscope,the doctorstartedcrying,becauseitturnedouttobeaveryrareform ofpancreaticcancerthatiscurablewithsurgery.Ihadthesurgery and,thankfully,Iamfinenow. ThiswastheclosestI'vebeentofacingdeath,andIhopeit'stheclosestIgetfora fewmoredecades.Havinglivedthroughit,Icannowsaythistoyouwithabitmore certaintythanwhendeathwasausefulbutpurelyintellectualconcept. Noonewantstodie,evenpeoplewhowanttogotoHeavendon'twanttodietoget there,andyet,deathisthedestinationweallshare.Noonehaseverescapedit. Andthatisasitshouldbe,becausedeathisverylikelythe singlebestinventionoflife.It'slife'schangeagent;itclears outtheoldtomakewayforthenew.rightnow,thenewisyou.But someday,nottoolongfromnow,youwillgraduallybecometheoldand beclearedaway.Sorrytobesodramatic,butit'squitetrue.Your timeislimited,sodon'twasteitlivingsomeoneelse'slife.Don't betrappedbydogma,whichislivingwiththeresultsofother people'sthinking.Don'tletthenoiseofothers'opinionsdrownout yourowninnervoice,heartandintuition.Theysomehowalreadyknow whatyoutrulywanttobecome.Everythingelseissecondary. WhenIwasyoung,therewasanamazingpublicationcalledTheWhole EarthCatalogue,whichwasoneofthebiblesofmygeneration.Itwas createdbyafellownamedStewartBrandnotfarfromhereinMenlo Park,andhebroughtittolifewithhispoetictouch.Thiswasin thelateSixties,beforepersonalcomputersanddesktoppublishing, soitwasallmadewithtypewriters,scissors,andPolaroidcameras. itwassortoflikeGoogleinpaperbackformthirtyfiveyearsbefore

Googlecamealong.Iwasidealistic,overflowingwithneattoolsand greatnotions.StewartandhisteamputoutseveralissuesoftheThe WholeEarthCatalogue,andthenwhenithadrunitscourse,theyput outafinalissue.ItwasthemidSeventiesandIwasyourage.On thebackcoveroftheirfinalissuewasaphotographofanearly morningcountryroad,thekindyoumightfindyourselfhitchhikingon ifyouweresoadventurous.Beneathwerethewords,"Stayhungry, stayfoolish."Itwastheirfarewellmessageastheysignedoff. "Stayhungry,stayfoolish."AndIhavealwayswishedthatfor myself,andnow,asyougraduatetobeginanew,Iwishthatforyou. Stayhungry,stayfoolish. Thankyouall,verymuch.