In 2005, Apple founder Steve Jobs gave this raw and moving commencement address to the Stanford graduating class. Having dropped out of college himself, been fired from the famous company he started, and been diagnosed and treated for cancer, Steve Jobs’ address is extraordinary, and touches on several powerful aspects of creativity and innovation, most especially the benefits of failure, the “lightness of being a beginner,” and about following your heart and doing what you love.
Here’s just one of the insightful quotes from his speech: “I didn’t see it then but getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter into one of the most creative periods of my life.”
Thank you Stanford for recording this speech. And thank you to the late Steve Jobs and his inimitable blend of creativity, innovation, heart, and fury.