| No doubt, Steve Jobs is no stranger to you. The world renowned Apple CEO sells dreams, not products. He is one of the greatest corporate storytellers on world stage. People love everything about him, whether it’s his presentation style, quotes or facts about his personal and professional life. | ||
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In 2005, he delivered a remarkable speech to Stanford Graduates in which he shared 3 stories. The first story was about connecting the dots. He talked about his biological mother who was a young, unwed college student, whom put him up for adoption. She felt that he should be adopted by college graduates. When a lawyer couple turned down the adoption, his mother had no choice but to give him up to a couple who had never graduated from college but with the promise that they will put him through college.
And 17 years later, he did go to college but he did not see the value in it. So, he dropped out. He stopped taking classes that didn't interest him and dropping in on the ones that looked interesting. He didn't have a dorm room, so he slept on the floor in friends' rooms, returned Coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and walked 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple.
At that time Reed College offered perhaps the best calligraphy programme in the country. He decided to take a class where he learned how to make typography great and found it fascinating. He had no idea then, how he was going to use calligraphy for practical applications. 10 years later, Macintosh, the first personal computer designed by Apple had beautiful typography thanks to Jobs.
“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.” stated Jobs.
His second story was about love and loss. He found what he loved to do early in life. At age 21, he co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak in his parents' garage back. In 10 years Apple had grown into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. But, a clash of vision left Jobs unemployed at 30. “What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating,” he recalls. For months, he struggled with his fate and began to feel like a public failure. But, slowly, Jobs began to realize that although he was fired, he still had a passion for computers and so he decided to start over.
“The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything.” says Jobs.
His last story was about death. He was diagnosed with a cancer. The doctors told him that he should expect to live no longer than six months because it was an incurable. Fortunately, after the biopsy, it turned out to be curable with surgery. The near death experience made him realize that remembering death is the most important tool he has ever encountered to help him make the big choices in life.
“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” says Jobs.
Steve Jobs, at age 56, has become a global cultural guru, shaping what entertainment we watch, how we listen to music, and what sort of objects we use to work and play. He has changed the game for entire industries. His utter dedication to discovery and excellence has created a culture that has made Apple a symbol of innovation.
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