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Steve Jobs' commencement address at Stanford University

You know that I am always interested in what Steve Jobs did and does. Here's a link to what he said in a commencement address at Stanford University (June 12, 2005):
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html.
It's beautiful. Read it and tell me what you think.

I, frequently, give talks to university students. Definitely some of what he said will be part of my future talks.

One of the things that I admire from people in the West is that many of them really love what they are doing. Here, I've seen people with no passion. They just go to work day by day not knowing what they want. It's a pitty, really. Maybe it's because we have too many things to do. Heavier burdens? I am not trying to get excuses, but we do have a heavier burden. I can see that many Indonesians would excel (easily?), if they were in the West. But, it might be because we "stay hungry? in Indonesia"

I want to be an agent that can change the situation in Indonesia, to show that one can love one's work. How? By showing them how I did/do it. Walk the talk. Apparently, it's not so easy, but I love what I am doing.

Comments

avianto said…
Agree on the "heavier burden" reasoning. Too many intricated things to deal every single day.

But. Keep the spirit, pak!
11:41 AM
Anonymous said…
Awesome speech ... it's so deep and contains so many lessons of life from someone who has really gone through it. It just makes me stop and think about my own life.
9:13 AM
Anonymous said…
Yes I agreed with you :) I was wondering do you still have time to publish journal paper?
2:22 PM
Anonymous said…
Heavier burden? Not really...

The main problem with people in this country is that we listen to people alot. Not that it's wrong or anything, but most of us don't have the capability (yet) to handle the nay-sayers.

Probably this is caused by culture... or education probably?
5:13 PM
Deb said…
I think you are mistaken that people in the West enjoy their jobs more than elsewhere. I think we have more opportunities to enjoy our jobs....but most do not know how to do that and are zoned out by mass amounts of media. There is a great deal of discontent and inability to appreciate the richness life has to offer. There is a severe lack of gratitude. There is a great emptiness which many try to fill in shallow ways.
deb
Washington State
building a new future
9:11 AM
Budi Rahardjo said…
Deb said:

There is a great emptiness which many try to fill in shallow ways.


Aha, that is exactly how I felt when I was living in the West. I am tempted to write a long story about how I felt about that. It's going to be a fiction though. Romance? Perhaps. Just give me some time to do it.
6:20 AM
Deb said…
I look forward to your stories; and I hope you are feeling better.
deb
11:17 AM
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