Steve Jobs 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech Analysis Essay

In his speech, Jobs explores the crucial role of failure in finding success, specifically in the situations when he shows that it takes hard work, deliberate practice, and the ability to learn from failure and to persevere.

The first point that Jobs makes, is that to be successful, you have to work hard. During the commencement speech, Jobs shares that, “If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do,” (7). Though Jobs admits to having dropped out of the class he was originally attending and ‘dropping in’ on a new one the decision he made was one that, in the long run, furthered his career. By making the decision, and putting in the work to go through the calligraphy class, Jobs ended up creating the future of typefaces on the personal computer. By putting himself and his career on the line, Jobs tells the Stanford graduating class of 2005, “Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future,” (8). Jobs let his actions decide his fate for his career, and at the time, he didn’t know that the decisions he was making would land him where it did. It took years of hard work for him to get to where he ended up, at the top of an internationally known company. Jobs later went on to say, “We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4,000 employees,” (10). With all of the work that Jobs and Wozniak put into the company, the two of them rose to fame. Hard work in the basis of a successful life and career. By working hard, you can go far in your life and career.

Point two, that Jobs mentioned, is deliberate practice, which is key in being successful. Jobs questioned himself often, with the question being, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something,” (16). By asking yourself if you would be happy doing what you were doing that day, so much that you wouldn’t mind if it were your last day, brings about a feeling of security in your practices. Deliberately practicing the things that make you the happiest, can in turn make you feel you have more of a sense of accomplishment. Jobs also brings up in a statement, “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose,” (17). Where Jobs was actually dying, one can think of their failures as a small death in their life, and that just because you fail, doesn’t meant you should just give up. Practicing being the best you can be at something, whatever it may be, can bring success in the future of your life, or even career. Jobs also makes the observation that, “If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts,” (7). By attending the class, Jobs had began paving the road for the future of personal computers around the world. Deliberately dropping his other class to join the calligraphy class, is what helped make the Mac so popular later in the technology world. With deliberate practice, anyone can be successful in some way.

Lastly, in his speech Jobs mentions a few things on the ability to learn from failure, and to persevere. Jobs gives the example, “During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife,” (13). During the time that Jobs was no longer working for Apple, he put his mind to making something new out of his failures. He was able to take the experience he had from working at Apple, and put that knowledge into two new companies that have flourished. Jobs was also very aware that he had made a mistake at Apple, and it is evident when he states, “I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me, “(11). By acknowledging that he had “dropped the baton” he was able to learn from his failure. Being able to learn from your failures and to make yourself better is one of the best skills you can possess when owning a business. Jobs later goes on to give a piece of inspiration to the Stanford graduating class of 2005 when he says, “Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith,” (14 + 15). When something knocks you down, you should make it a point to get back up and keep trying. Failure is a necessary part of life, you just have to know how to pick yourself up and keep working towards your goals. Having the ability to learn from your failures and persevere is seen as a great ability to have in the business world.

Conclusively, Jobs explained to the Stanford graduating class of 2005, that it is important for one to do hard work, practice things deliberately, and to be able to learn from your failures and mistakes and to persevere.