Mr. Jobs addressed Standford University graduates on June 13 of this year, as previously reported by The Mac Observer.
Fortune editors prefaced the transcript of the speech, saying his address and three life lessons “struck a powerful chord — not only with Stanfordis graduating class but also with tech cognoscenti in Silicon Valley and beyond, who have (since) posted his words on websites, discussed them on blogs, and passed them, e-mail to e-mail, around the globe.”
The magazineis front cover mentions the Jobs address with a red banner label and the words, “Steve Jobs Gets Personal”.
Mr. Jobs told the graduates not to be afraid of failing and not to “let the noise of othersi opinions drown out your own inner voice.”
Wearing jeans and sandals under his black robe, Mr. Jobs told some 23,000 people in the stadium in Palo Alto, Calif. of his early childhood days, his struggle to make Apple a success, and his thoughts on mortality after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in August of 2004.
“I didnit see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me,” Mr. Jobs said. “It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods in my life.”
Mr. Jobs admitted that his success at Apple and NeXT wouldnit have happened “if I hadnit been fired from Apple. Iim convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did…I was a very public failure and I even thought about running away from the valley. It was awful tasting medicine but I guess the patient needed it.”
The 50 year old Mr. Jobs turned serious when talking about his fight with cancer last year, admitting doctors expected him to live no longer than six months.
“Your time is limited, so donit waste it living someone elseis life,” he commented. “Donit let the noise of othersi opinions drown out your own inner voice…Remembering you are going to die is the best way to avoid the fear that you have something to lose.”
Mr. Jobs underwent surgery last August and said he has fully recovered.
Stanford University has posted online video excerpts of the speech and the full text. Selected excerpts can also be found at this address on TMO.