Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement Address

On a warm June afternoon in 2005, thousands of 美国斯坦福大学 graduates sat under a clear California sky, their minds racing with excitement and anxiety. As they prepared to step into the world, they were about to hear from a man who had already shaped it in unimaginable ways: Steve Jobs , the visionary co-founder of 苹果 . But instead of hearing tales of business triumphs or technological breakthroughs, what they got was something far more personal—something raw and deeply human.

Jobs stepped up to the podium, not as the polished tech mogul the world knew him to be, but as someone who had confronted life’s toughest questions head-on. He spoke of failure, uncertainty, and even death—topics rarely discussed in commencement speeches, yet ones that struck at the heart of the human experience. It was as if Jobs, standing at the pinnacle of success, had tapped into a wisdom far older than Silicon Valley, echoing ideas found in the ancient teachings of Stoic philosophers like Seneca and Marcus Aurelius.

In recounting his personal stories of dropping out of college, navigating life’s uncertainties, and facing a deadly illness, Jobs didn’t just inspire—he offered timeless lessons rooted in Stoic thought. His speech wasn’t just about how to succeed in life; it was about how to live well, even when life doesn’t go as planned. And in a moment meant to celebrate new beginnings, Jobs delivered a powerful reminder of the one thing that binds us all: mortality.

Dropping Out

Jobs began his address by recounting a story that few people knew at the time: he had dropped out of college after only six months. “I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out,” Jobs admitted. His decision to leave Reed College wasn’t made lightly, but it was an act of embracing the unknown. He didn’t have a plan—something that would send many into a state of panic. However, in this moment, Jobs embraced one of the fundamental aspects of Stoicism: acknowledging and accepting what is not within our control.

The Stoics, particularly Epictetus , would often remind us that while external events may be beyond our control, how we respond to them is always within our power. Epictetus, in his Discourses , teaches that we should focus on what we can change—our attitudes, our thoughts, and our actions. Jobs dropping out of college was a leap into uncertainty, but instead of letting fear dictate his path, he followed his interests and allowed curiosity to guide him. He continued attending classes that intrigued him, such as calligraphy, even though they seemed irrelevant at the time. Looking back, Jobs remarked, “If I had never dropped in on that single calligraphy course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts.” What initially seemed like a mistake became a serendipitous decision that shaped the future of personal computing.

This reflects the Stoic concept of amor fati , or the love of fate. Rather than resisting the challenges and setbacks that life throws at us, Stoics encourage us to embrace them as necessary parts of our journey. In Jobs’ case, dropping out allowed him to create something beautiful later in life. He didn’t see the obstacle as a defeat but as an opportunity for growth. Marcus Aurelius, one of the most renowned Stoic philosophers, advised in his Meditations : “What stands in the way becomes the way.” Jobs lived this idea by turning what seemed like a failure into an integral part of his success.

Connecting the Dots

A second key element of Jobs’ speech, and one that ties closely to Stoicism, is the idea of searching for meaning in the face of uncertainty. “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward,” Jobs said, acknowledging the difficulty of making sense of life’s twists and turns in real time. Often, it’s only in retrospect that we see how disparate events come together to form a coherent narrative.

The Stoics understood this well. Seneca, in his essay On Providence , argues that the seemingly chaotic events of life ultimately serve a higher purpose, one that is often hidden from us until later. The Stoic concept of the “Logos ”—the rational order that governs the universe—suggests that while we may not always understand why things happen, we must trust that everything is interconnected and contributes to the greater whole. Seneca wrote, “It is not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” In many ways, Jobs’ reflection on connecting the dots underscores this Stoic trust in the order of the universe. He urges us to follow our intuition, even when the path seems unclear, because those dots, seemingly random at first, may one day form a picture far greater than we could have imagined.

Facing Death

Perhaps the most Stoic part of Jobs’ speech came when he spoke about death. At the time of the address, Jobs had recently recovered from a life-threatening bout of pancreatic cancer, an experience that left a profound impact on him. He shared with the audience a simple yet powerful idea: “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.”

This idea, so central to Jobs’ life philosophy, is also at the core of Stoicism. The Stoics emphasized the concept of memento mori , or the practice of remembering death. Far from being morbid, this was a reminder to live life fully and without fear. Marcus Aurelius frequently wrote in his Meditations about the importance of keeping death at the forefront of our minds: “You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.” For the Stoics, death was the ultimate equalizer. It strips away our illusions of permanence and importance, forcing us to confront what truly matters.

Jobs echoed this sentiment when he said, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” For him, knowing that death was inevitable didn’t lead to despair; rather, it emboldened him to pursue his passions and live authentically. In the same way, Stoicism teaches us to make the most of the present moment, not by fearing the future but by living fully in accordance with our values, no matter how much time we have left.

Moreover, Jobs’ experience with cancer taught him one of the most profound Stoic lessons of all: we cannot control how much time we have, but we can control how we use that time. The Stoics often spoke of time as one of our most precious resources, not to be wasted on trivialities or distractions. Seneca, in his essay On the Shortness of Life , lamented how much time people waste as if they have an infinite supply, when in reality, “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.” Jobs’ message—don’t let the fear of death prevent you from living a meaningful life—reflects this very Stoic idea.

Living With Purpose

Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address is a modern articulation of Stoic wisdom. Through his personal stories about dropping out of college, confronting uncertainty, and facing death, Jobs reminds us that life’s most important truths are often the simplest. We cannot always control the events that shape our lives, but we can control how we respond to them. We may not always see how the dots connect in the moment, but by trusting in the process and following our instincts, we can find meaning in even the most challenging experiences. And above all, by remembering our mortality, we can live fearlessly, fully embracing every opportunity that life offers us.

Like the Stoics, Jobs didn’t believe in avoiding adversity; he believed in using it as a catalyst for growth. His advice to the graduates of Stanford, though rooted in his own life story, echoes the timeless teachings of Stoic philosophers: be present, be resilient, and above all, be true to yourself in the face of uncertainty. As Jobs so poignantly concluded, “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.” This is the heart of Stoic wisdom—a recognition that while we may never have all the answers, the pursuit of purpose, meaning, and integrity is the greatest journey we can undertake.