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Read And Watch: Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement Address

The death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, has renewed interest in the commencement address he gave at Stanford University in 2005, which drew considerable attention for its content and because Jobs so rarely spoke in public about himself.

As Bob Boilen writes over at the All Songs Considered blog:

"He tells three very candid, uncharacteristically Steve Jobs stories about life, love and death from a guy who's biological mother wasn't able to parent him, was booted from the company he created and battles cancer. Anyone stuck in a miserable job — or anyone trying to figure out what to do with their life — should watch this. He's an inspiring fellow human."

At one point, Jobs tells the students "you have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever." The dots you encounter in life, he said, will eventually connect. "Believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leaves you off the well-worn path. And that will make all the difference."

Stanford has posted the text of Jobs' speech (as prepared for delivery, so there are some differences from what he actually said) here, and we'll put it in a box below. The school has made the video available as well.

(Click on "Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford commencement address" and the text should pop up.)

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.