Notes on Sp|r|tua||ty h||osophy

Many of us belleve LhaL every lndlvldual he or she ls responslble for hls or her karmas and no one else Lhe lndlvldual ls consldered Lo be Lhe
lone acLor and en[oyer of hls karmas and Lhelr frulLs And Lhls ls menLloned ln Srlmad 8hagavadClLa as well ln a dlfferenL way karmanye
vadhlkarasLe Ma phaleshou kada chana Ma karma hala PeLur 8hurmaLey SangosLva Akarmanl" whlch means LhaL ou have a r|ght to
perform your prescr|bed duty but you are not ent|t|ed to the fru|ts of act|ons Never cons|der yourse|f the cause of the resu|ts of your
act|v|t|es and never be attached to not do|ng your duty" 8uL can a human belng ln general noL geL aLLached Lo Lhe frulL of Lhe dolngs afLer
all LhaL ls Lhe moLlvaLlon behlnd dolng a Lask"1he lrulL/Lnd 8esulLs" We wlll noL work aL all unLll we know whaL wlll be Lhe ouLcome ln a
smaller plcLure Lhough ln a long run Lhose small resulLs/ frulLs doesn'L even maLLer 8uL human belngs are LoLally drlven by Lhe necesslLy and
Lhe yleld/ouLpuL Lhls may be due Lo Lhe vlslon percepLlon We can'L see Lhe blgger plcLure or Lhe blgger purpose of llfe We Lend Lo be happy ln
small Lhlngs small achlevemenLs llke geLLlng flrsL rank ln class or geLLlng Lop raLlng ln company means a hell loL Lo us We even forgeL Lhe
sacrlflces made for achlevlng Lhls and yeL only reallze Lhls when we fall aL one Lhlng or Lhe oLher 1rue ls Lhe facL LhaL a person doesn'L reallze
Lhe [oy of success unLll and unless he falls
SLeve's !obs wonderful sLory of hls llfe's sLruggles sLrlke me everyLlme l am faced wlLh a challenge ln my llfe l am sharlng wlLh you here
Delivered 12 June 2005, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
lm honored Lo be wlLh you Loday for your commencemenL from one of Lhe flnesL unlverslLles ln Lhe world 1ruLh be Lold l never graduaLed
from college and Lhls ls Lhe closesL lve ever goLLen Lo a college graduaLlon 1oday l wanL Lo Lell you Lhree sLorles from my llfe 1haLs lL no blg
deal ust three stor|es 1he flrsL sLory ls abouL connecLlng Lhe doLs l dropped ouL of 8eed College afLer Lhe flrsL slx monLhs buL Lhen sLayed
around as a dropln for anoLher 18 monLhs or so before l really qulL So why dld l drop ouL? lL sLarLed before l was born My blologlcal moLher
was a young unwed graduaLe sLudenL and she declded Lo puL me up for adopLlon She felL very sLrongly LhaL l should be adopLed by college
graduaLes so everyLhlng was all seL for me Lo be adopLed aL blrLh by a lawyer and hls wlfe excepL LhaL when l popped ouL Lhey declded aL Lhe
lasL mlnuLe LhaL Lhey really wanLed a glrl So my parenLs who were on a walLlng llsL goL a call ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe nlghL asklng Weve goL an
unexpecLed baby boy uo you wanL hlm? 1hey sald Cf course My blologlcal moLher found ouL laLer LhaL my moLher had never graduaLed
from college and LhaL my faLher had never graduaLed from hlgh school She refused Lo slgn Lhe flnal adopLlon papers She only relenLed a few
monLhs laLer when my parenLs promlsed LhaL l would go Lo college 1hls was Lhe sLarL ln my llfe And 17 years laLer l dld go Lo college 8uL l
nalvely chose a college LhaL was almosL as expenslve as SLanford and all of my worklngclass parenLs savlngs were belng spenL on my college
LulLlon AfLer slx monLhs l couldnL see Lhe value ln lL l had no ldea whaL l wanLed Lo do wlLh my llfe and no ldea how college was golng Lo help
me flgure lL ouL And here l was spendlng all of Lhe money my parenLs had saved Lhelr enLlre llfe So l declded Lo drop ouL and LrusL LhaL lL
would all work ouL okay lL was preLLy scary aL Lhe Llme buL looklng back lL was one of Lhe besL declslons l ever made 1he mlnuLe l dropped ouL
l could sLop Laklng Lhe requlred classes LhaL dldnL lnLeresL me and begln dropplng ln on Lhe ones LhaL looked far more lnLeresLlng lL wasnL all
romanLlc l dldnL have a dorm room so l slepL on Lhe floor ln frlends rooms l reLurned coke boLLles for Lhe flve cenL deposlLs Lo buy food wlLh
and l would walk Lhe seven mlles across Lown every Sunday nlghL Lo geL one good meal a week aL Lhe Pare krlshna Lemple l loved lL And much
of whaL l sLumbled lnLo by followlng my curloslLy and lnLulLlon Lurned ouL Lo be prlceless laLer on LeL me glve you one example 8eed College
aL LhaL Llme offered perhaps Lhe besL calllgraphy lnsLrucLlon ln Lhe counLry 1hroughouL Lhe campus every posLer every label on every drawer
was beauLlfully hand calllgraphed 8ecause l had dropped ouL and dldnL have Lo Lake Lhe normal classes l declded Lo Lake a calllgraphy class Lo
learn how Lo do Lhls l learned abouL serlf and san serlf Lypefaces abouL varylng Lhe amounL of space beLween dlfferenL leLLer comblnaLlons
abouL whaL makes greaL Lypography greaL lL was beauLlful hlsLorlcal arLlsLlcally subLle ln a way LhaL sclence canL capLure and l found lL
fasclnaLlng none of Lhls had even a hope of any pracLlcal appllcaLlon ln my llfe 8uL Len years laLer when we were deslgnlng Lhe flrsL MaclnLosh
compuLer lL all came back Lo me And we deslgned lL all lnLo Lhe Mac lL was Lhe flrsL compuLer wlLh beauLlful Lypography lf l had never
dropped ln on LhaL slngle course ln college Lhe Mac would have never had mulLlple Lypefaces or proporLlonally spaced fonLs And slnce
Wlndows [usL copled Lhe Mac lLs llkely LhaL no personal compuLer would have Lhem lf l had never dropped ouL l would have never dropped ln
on LhaL calllgraphy class and personal compuLers mlghL noL have Lhe wonderful Lypography LhaL Lhey do Cf course lL was lmposslble Lo
connecL Lhe doLs looklng forward when l was ln college 8uL lL was very very clear looklng backwards 10 years laLer Agaln you canL connecL
Lhe doLs looklng forward you can only connecL Lhem looklng backwards So you have Lo LrusL LhaL Lhe doLs wlll somehow connecL ln your
fuLure ?ou have Lo LrusL ln someLhlng your guL desLlny llfe karma whaLever because bellevlng LhaL Lhe doLs wlll connecL down Lhe road wlll
glve you Lhe confldence Lo follow your hearL even when lL leads you off Lhe wellworn paLh and LhaL wlll make all Lhe dlfference
My second sLory ls abouL love and loss l was lucky l found whaL l loved Lo do early ln llfe Woz' and l sLarLed Apple ln my parenLs garage when l
was 20 We worked hard and ln 10 years Apple had grown from [usL Lhe Lwo of us ln a garage lnLo a Lwo bllllon dollar company wlLh over 4000
employees Wed [usL released our flnesL creaLlon Lhe MaclnLosh a year earller and l had [usL Lurned 30 And Lhen l goL flred Pow can you geL
flred from a company you sLarLed? Well as Apple grew we hlred someone who l LhoughL was very LalenLed Lo run Lhe company wlLh me and
for Lhe flrsL year or so Lhlngs wenL well 8uL Lhen our vlslons of Lhe fuLure began Lo dlverge and evenLually we had a falllng ouL When we dld
our 8oard of ulrecLors slded wlLh hlm And so aL 30 l was ouL And very publlcly ouL WhaL had been Lhe focus of my enLlre adulL llfe was gone
and lL was devasLaLlng l really dldnL know whaL Lo do for a few monLhs l felL LhaL l had leL Lhe prevlous generaLlon of enLrepreneurs down
LhaL l had dropped Lhe baLon as lL was belng passed Lo me l meL wlLh uavld ackard and 8ob noyce and Lrled Lo apologlze for screwlng up so
badly l was a very publlc fallure and l even LhoughL abouL runnlng away from Lhe valley 8uL someLhlng slowly began Lo dawn on me l sLlll
loved whaL l dld 1he Lurn of evenLs aL Apple had noL changed LhaL one blL l had been re[ecLed buL l was sLlll ln love And so l declded Lo sLarL
over l dldnL see lL Lhen buL lL Lurned ouL LhaL geLLlng flred from Apple was Lhe besL Lhlng LhaL could have ever happened Lo me 1he heavlness
of belng successful was replaced by Lhe llghLness of belng a beglnner agaln less sure abouL everyLhlng lL freed me Lo enLer one of Lhe mosL
creaLlve perlods of my llfe uurlng Lhe nexL flve years l sLarLed a company named nex1 anoLher company named lxar and fell ln love wlLh an
amazlng woman who would become my wlfe lxar wenL on Lo creaLe Lhe worlds flrsL compuLer anlmaLed feaLure fllm 1oy SLory and ls now
Lhe mosL successful anlmaLlon sLudlo ln Lhe world ln a remarkable Lurn of evenLs Apple boughL nex1 and l reLurned Lo Apple and Lhe
Lechnology we developed aL nex1 ls aL Lhe hearL of Apples currenL renalssance And Laurene and l have a wonderful famlly LogeLher lm preLLy
sure none of Lhls would have happened lf l hadnL been flred from Apple lL was awful LasLlng medlclne buL l guess Lhe paLlenL needed lL
SomeLlme llfe someLlmes llfes golng Lo hlL you ln Lhe head wlLh a brlck uonL lose falLh lm convlnced LhaL Lhe only Lhlng LhaL kepL me golng
was LhaL l loved whaL l dld ?ouve goL Lo flnd whaL you love And LhaL ls as Lrue for work as lL ls for your lovers ?our work ls golng Lo flll a large
parL of your llfe and Lhe only way Lo be Lruly saLlsfled ls Lo do whaL you belleve ls greaL work And Lhe only way Lo do greaL work ls Lo love whaL
you do lf you havenL found lL yeL keep looklng and donL seLLle As wlLh all maLLers of Lhe hearL youll know when you flnd lL And llke any
greaL relaLlonshlp lL [usL geLs beLLer and beLLer as Lhe years roll on So keep looklng donL seLLle
My Lhlrd sLory ls abouL deaLh When l was 17 l read a quoLe LhaL wenL someLhlng llke lf you llve each day as lf lL was your lasL someday youll
mosL cerLalnly be rlghL lL made an lmpresslon on me and slnce Lhen for Lhe pasL 33 years lve looked ln Lhe mlrror every mornlng and asked
myself lf Loday were Lhe lasL day of my llfe would l wanL Lo do whaL l am abouL Lo do Loday? And whenever Lhe answer has been no for
Loo many days ln a row l know l need Lo change someLhlng 8ememberlng LhaL lll be dead soon ls Lhe mosL lmporLanL Lool lve ever
encounLered Lo help me make Lhe blg cholces ln llfe 8ecause almosL everyLhlng all exLernal expecLaLlons all prlde all fear of embarrassmenL or
allure Lhese Lhlngs [usL fall away ln Lhe face of deaLh leavlng only whaL ls Lruly lmporLanL 8ememberlng LhaL you are golng Lo dle ls Lhe besL
way l know Lo avold Lhe Lrap of Lhlnklng you have someLhlng Lo lose ?ou are already naked 1here ls no reason noL Lo follow your hearL AbouL
a year ago l was dlagnosed wlLh cancer l had a scan aL 730 ln Lhe mornlng and lL clearly showed a Lumor on my pancreas l dldnL even know
whaL a pancreas was 1he docLors Lold me Lhls was almosL cerLalnly a Lype of cancer LhaL ls lncurable and LhaL l should expecL Lo llve no longer
Lhan Lhree Lo slx monLhs My docLor advlsed me Lo go home and geL my affalrs ln order whlch ls docLors code for prepare Lo dle lL means Lo
Lry and Lell your klds everyLhlng you LhoughL youd have Lhe nexL 10 years Lo Lell Lhem ln [usL a few monLhs lL means Lo make sure everyLhlng ls
buLLoned up so LhaL lL wlll be as easy as posslble for your famlly lL means Lo say your goodbyes l llved wlLh LhaL dlagnosls all day LaLer LhaL
evenlng l had a blopsy where Lhey sLuck an endoscope down my LhroaL Lhrough my sLomach lnLo my lnLesLlnes puL a needle lnLo my pancreas
and goL a few cells from Lhe Lumor l was sedaLed buL my wlfe who was Lhere Lold me LhaL when Lhey vlewed Lhe cells under a mlcroscope
Lhe docLors sLarLed crylng because lL Lurned ouL Lo be a very rare form of pancreaLlc cancer LhaL ls curable wlLh surgery l had Lhe surgery and
Lhankfully lm flne now 1hls was Lhe closesL lve been Lo faclng deaLh and l hope lLs Lhe closesL l geL for a few more decades Pavlng llved
Lhrough lL l can now say Lhls Lo you wlLh a blL more cerLalnLy Lhan when deaLh was a useful buL purely lnLellecLual concepL no one wanLs Lo
dle Lven people who wanL Lo go Lo heaven donL wanL Lo dle Lo geL Lhere And yeL deaLh ls Lhe desLlnaLlon we all share no one has ever
escaped lL And LhaL ls as lL should be because ueaLh ls very llkely Lhe slngle besL lnvenLlon of Llfe lLs Llfes change agenL lL clears ouL Lhe old
Lo make way for Lhe new 8lghL now Lhe new ls you buL someday noL Loo long from now you wlll gradually become Lhe old and be cleared
away Sorry Lo be so dramaLlc buL lLs qulLe Lrue ?our Llme ls llmlLed so donL wasLe lL llvlng someone elses llfe uonL be Lrapped by dogma
whlch ls llvlng wlLh Lhe resulLs of oLher peoples Lhlnklng uonL leL Lhe nolse of oLhers oplnlons drown ouL your own lnner volce nd most
|mportant have the courage to fo||ow your heart and |ntu|t|on 1hey somehow already know whaL you Lruly wanL Lo become LveryLhlng else
ls secondary When l was young Lhere was an amazlng publlcaLlon called 1he Whole LarLh CaLalogue whlch was one of Lhe blbles of my
generaLlon lL was creaLed by a fellow named SLewarL 8rand noL far from here ln Menlo ark and he broughL lL Lo llfe wlLh hls poeLlc Louch 1hls
was ln Lhe laLe 60s before personal compuLers and deskLop publlshlng so lL was all made wlLh LypewrlLers sclssors and olarold cameras lL
was sorL of llke Coogle ln paperback form 33 years before Coogle came along lL was ldeallsLlc overflowlng wlLh neaL Lools and greaL noLlons
SLewarL and hls Leam puL ouL several lssues of 1he Whole LarLh CaLalog and Lhen when lL had run lLs course Lhey puL ouL a flnal lssue lL was
Lhe mld1970s and l was your age Cn Lhe back cover of Lhelr flnal lssue was a phoLograph of an early mornlng counLry road Lhe klnd you mlghL
flnd yourself hlLchhlklng on lf you were so advenLurous 8eneaLh lL were Lhe words SLay Pungry SLay loollsh lL was Lhelr farewell message
as Lhey slgned off SLay Pungry SLay loollsh And lve always wlshed LhaL for myself And now as you graduaLe Lo begln a new l wlsh LhaL for
you Stay nungry Stay Ioo||sh "