like many other people, start searching for something motivational and empowering, something that helps me overcome

the ordeals that I am facing. One day, while searching for some motivational speeches online, I came across the speech delivered by Steve Jobs, the then CEO of Apple Company, at Stanford University on June 12, 2005.

The speech crystallises Jobs’ philosophy of life and his approach towards living one, by connecting and analysing three different episodes of his life. The first story in the speech is about Jobs’ childhood and youth.  Jobs’ life, as most of us know, started as an adopted child. His biological mother, who was a young and unwed college graduate, put him up for adoption and he was subsequently adopted by a lawyer and his wife. Although he lived with his foster parents, Jobs had a comfortable childhood. He started his college at the age of 17, but dropped out after the first semester, realising the immense cost that his foster parents were bearing for his education. During his days at college, he slept on the floor of his friend’s room (since he couldn’t afford a room for himself), returned coke bottles for a couple of cents, and walked seven miles to the Hare Krishna temple for one free meal a week.  

The second story is about love and loss. He started Apple at the age of 20, only to be fired from his own start-up in a public and humiliating manner at the age of 30. But he wasn’t a person to give up. He started a company named NeXT. He also established another company, Pixar, which brought about a revolution in the world of animation, and fell in love with an amazing woman who later became his wife.

Later, things came back in full swing. Apple bought NeXT, and Jobs was back in his old company. He brought about a revolution in the way we access and listen to music (think ipod) and the way we use mobile communicating devices (through iphones).   

The third story in Jobs’ speech deals with life and death. He was diagnosed with a fatal pancreatic tumour, and doctors predicted that he wouldn’t be living for more than three to six months. But later, they found that it was a rare case which could possibly be cured through surgery. After his tryst with death, Jobs said that he became more focused and dedicated in his work, living every single day as if it was his last.

Steve Jobs was certainly a man of great courage and endurance. His story is amazing, given the fact that he was brought up by foster parents, left college due to financial difficulties, and started one of the most recognised and innovative companies in the world from scratch. He was a gifted person who defined the era of personal computers, computer animation and handheld devices. But at the same time, he was also a thick-skinned, hardworking person, someone who had the ability of transforming stumbling blocks into stepping stones. I was really moved by how he dealt with life situations and how he took his decisions.

Through his speech, I came to realise that life becomes more enjoyable once we overcome the challenges that we face, and also that we should have the courage to follow our own heart and intuition.

Sapkota is a student at Shanker Dev Campus