CEO and co-founder of Apple and Pixar, Steve Jobs died Oct. 5, 2011, of pancreatic cancer. He lived his 56 years as if each one were his last, making sure that he followed his curiosity, did what he loved, and stayed authentic to his vision.
One of his best speeches was not touting the newest product (though he was legendary for that), but in a short, heartfelt, personal speech to college graduates about living an authentic life.
The words themselves reached far more than the college students. The words remind us in marketing or any business that we should remember to: do what we love, be passionate about our work, stay curious, and be true to who we are called to be.
In the speech, Jobs spoke about his college experience and how dropping out of the classes he didn't like and dropping into the ones he loved had a huge impact on his life 10 years later. (A calligraphy course he loved would be at the heart of the design of the Macintosh.) He also shared about the deep humiliation he felt at 30 years old in being fired from the company he started and how following what he loved, despite this public embarrassment, led to his work with Pixar and eventually the change at the heart of Apple.
He wrapped his speech with the hope that he would have decades more to follow his passion. But though he did not, his urging to those graduates to live a life worth living and to follow their visions---and not anyone else's---went beyond those college graduate and spoke to everyone who heard the video.
Here it is again:
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