Steve Jobs' commencement speech at Stanford was pretty good, I'll give him that. At first when he said he wanted to share three stories about himself...well that's just it, it's about himself. Seems a little egotistical. But I admire the fact that he shared those stories in a way that was accessible to his audience. And what better way to connect with people than through narrative?
I agree with Jamie's point in class today, that Mr. Jobs did not seem to be advocating the idea of dropping out of college but merely stating that he himself did not need it. There are people out there who benefit from college and there are those that benefit from going straight into the working sphere. And I think he definitely realizes this. It was interesting to hear shouts and applause when he said he dropped out of Reed...obviously those students were graduates and had no way of dropping out since it was commencement. Perhaps they too can appreciate the fact that school is not for everyone.
What hit home the most was Jobs' point about connecting the dots. It's something you can't do ahead of time, it happens when looking back. And in order to get the lines that you want you need to find and do what you love, what interests you. Obviously this is a luxury - not everyone can afford to take the time to find their passion or even pursue it, if it proves to be not lucrative. But as a liberal arts student graduating at the end of this term, I take his words to heart. He says don't settle, find your satisfaction. This has been my personal motto for years. Satisfaction has to be one of the hardest feelings to achieve, but it's the highest (so of course it's going to be hard). It's so easy to settle for that job you managed to find in a recovering economy and in the class of one of the highest percentage of graduates. It's tough but I think Steve's point is that, once you do find it, you can live. You will live. That's all it takes. (Roughly speaking).
So I enjoy that Steve dropped out and attended classes that interested him. No restrictions from general ed requirements. Because in an ideal situation, that's all that matters. Your education. And in line with tech logos, it's personal. It's exactly that, your education. Not what your school plans out for you, or what your parents want you to take, what your friend's are taking, what will land you the best internship, etc. Learn because you love to learn. That's why Steve Jobs became such a genius. He wasn't shy of learning and seeking out opportunities to learn.
I like your comment about connecting the dots, because Steve Jobs did stress that point for a long time in the beginning of his speech. But I disagree that connecting the dots is a luxury, at least due to financial reasons. Steve Jobs did not have much money when he was exploring the world, looking for his true passion. While his parents did pay for his brief college stint at Reed, he did not have much money when he dropped out. In fact, he lived on friends floors, and brought in 5 cent cans for food money, and made the long trip to get a free meal every Sunday. After reading Jobs biography, I think he was stressing that people need to slow down in life, and keep it simple. Go where they want to go, but to keep in mind that material items may not be the true indicator of happiness.
ReplyDelete@Lisowe10: Although Jobs was hard-pressed for financial resources, I don't think that that he was without the privilege of access. His parents weren't wealthy, but let's not forget that he was from Silicon Valley and that he was going to a wealthy liberal arts college. Jobs had a LOT of access to resources. At the same time, he was trying to live as a hippie, so I think some of his "hard" lifestyle comes from a sort of self-deprivation. Jobs--may have been saying "slow down" but I honestly believe that Isaacson's storytelling is meant to get us to think about whether Jobs was giving us the truth of his history or what he wants us to think about his past.
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