找到所愛

編者按：學(xué)習(xí)英語的方法之一：背誦。如果能把華麗的詞藻記住并使用，從某種意義上說，你才真正得到了她，她才真正成為了你的一部分。不要擔(dān)心遺忘，重復(fù)是遺忘的克星。以下是蘋果電腦的創(chuàng)始人史蒂夫#8226;喬布斯（Steve Jobs）2005年在斯坦福大學(xué)畢業(yè)典禮上的演說辭，大家從中學(xué)到的將不只是英語……

Thank you. I'm honored to be with you today for your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. Truth be told， I never graduated from college and this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation.

Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories. The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first six months but then stayed around as a drop-in for another eighteen months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out? It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young， unwed graduate student， and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates， so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife， except that when I popped out， they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents， who were on a waiting list， got a call in the middle of the night asking， \"We've got an unexpected baby boy. Do you want him?\" They said， \"Of course.\" My biological mother found out later that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would go to college.

This was the start in my life. And seventeen years later， I did go to college， but I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford， and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months， I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life， and no idea of how college was going to help me figure it out， and here I was， spending all the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time， but looking back， it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out， I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me and begin dropping in on the ones that looked far more interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room， so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms. I returned Coke bottles for the five-cent deposits to buy food with， and I would walk the seven miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example.

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster， every label on every drawer was beautifully hand-calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes， I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and sans-serif typefaces， about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations， about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful， historical， artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture， and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later when we were designing the first Macintosh computer， it all came back to me， and we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college， the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts， and since Windows just copied the Mac， it's likely that no personal computer would have them.

If I had never dropped out， I would have never dropped in on that calligraphy class and personals computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do.

Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college， but it was very， very clear looking backwards 10 years later. 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. You have to trust in something - your gut， destiny， life， karma， whatever--because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart， even when it leads you off the well-worn path， and that will make all the difference.

My second story is about love and loss. I was lucky. I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents' garage when I was twenty. We worked hard and in ten years， Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4，000 employees. We'd just released our finest creation， the Macintosh， a year earlier， and I'd just turned thirty， and then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well， as Apple grew， we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me， and for the first year or so， things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge， and eventually we had a falling out. When we did， our board of directors sided with him， and so at thirty， I was out， and very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone， and it was devastating. 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. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure and I even thought about running away from the Valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me. I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I'd been rejected but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then， but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again， less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods in my life. 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. Pixar went on to create the world's first computer-animated feature film， Toy Story， and is now the most successful animation studio in the world.

In a remarkable turn of events， Apple bought NeXT and I returned to Apple and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance， and Lorene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful-tasting medicine but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life's going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love， and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life， and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work， and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet， keep looking， and don't settle. As with all matters of the heart， you'll know when you find it， and like any great relationship it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking. Don't settle.

My third story is about death. When I was 17 I read a quote that went something like \"If you live each day as if it was your last， someday you'll most certainly be right.\" It made an impression on me， and since then， for the past 33 years， I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself， \"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. Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important thing I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life， because almost everything - all external expectations， all pride， all fear of embarrassment or failure--these things just fall away in the face of death， leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago， I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable， and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order， which is doctors' code for \"prepare to die.\" It means to try and tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next ten years to tell them， in just a few months. It means to make sure that everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy where they stuck an endoscope down my throat， through my stomach into my intestines， put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated but my wife， who was there， told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope， the doctor started crying， because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and， thankfully， I am fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death， and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it， I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept. No one wants to die， even people who want to go to Heaven don't want to die to get there， and yet， death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be， because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It's life's change agent; it clears out the old to make way for the new. right now， the new is you. But someday， not too long from now， you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic， but it's quite true. Your time is limited， so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma， which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice， heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young， there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalogue， which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stuart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park， and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late Sixties， before personal computers and desktop publishing， so it was all made with typewriters， scissors， and Polaroid cameras. it was sort of like Google in paperback form thirty-five years before Google came along. It was idealistic， overflowing with neat tools and great notions. Stuart and his team put out several issues of the The Whole Earth Catalogue， and then when it had run its course， they put out a final issue. It was the mid-Seventies and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road， the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath were the words， \"Stay hungry， stay foolish.\" It was their farewell message as they signed off. \"Stay hungry， stay foolish.\" And I have always wished that for myself， and now， as you graduate to begin anew， I wish that for you. Stay hungry， stay foolish.

Thank you all， very much.

中文：

謝謝大家。很榮幸能和你們這些來自世界上一流大學(xué)之一的畢業(yè)生們一塊兒參加畢業(yè)典禮。老實說，我大學(xué)沒有畢業(yè)，今天恐怕是我一生中與大學(xué)畢業(yè)最近的一次了。

今天我想告訴大家來自我生活的三個故事。沒什么大不了的，只是三個故事而已。第一個故事，如何串連生命中的點滴。

我在里得大學(xué)讀了六個月就退學(xué)了，但是在那之后的十八個月里——我真正退學(xué)之前，我還常去學(xué)校。為何我要選擇退學(xué)呢？這還得從我出生之前說起。我的生母是一個年輕、未婚的大學(xué)畢業(yè)生，她決定讓別人收養(yǎng)我。她有一個很強烈的信仰，認(rèn)為我應(yīng)該被一個大學(xué)畢業(yè)生家庭收養(yǎng)。于是，一對律師夫婦說好了要領(lǐng)養(yǎng)我，然而最后一秒鐘，他們改變了主意，決定要個女孩兒。然后排在收養(yǎng)人名單中我的養(yǎng)父母在一個深夜接到電話，“很意外，我們多了一個男嬰，你們要嗎？”“當(dāng)然要！”但是我的生母后來又發(fā)現(xiàn)我的養(yǎng)母沒有大學(xué)畢業(yè)，養(yǎng)父連高中都沒有畢業(yè)。她拒絕在領(lǐng)養(yǎng)書上簽字。直到幾個月后，我的養(yǎng)父母保證會讓我上大學(xué)，她才妥協(xié)。

這就是我生命的開端。十七年后，我上大學(xué)了，但是我很無知地選了一所差不多和斯坦福一樣貴的學(xué)校，幾乎花掉我那藍(lán)領(lǐng)階層養(yǎng)父母一生的積蓄。六個月后，我沒看見這筆花費的價值。我不知道自己以后要做什么，也不曉得大學(xué)會怎樣幫我指點迷津，而我卻在花銷父母一生的積蓄。所以我決定退學(xué)，并且相信沒有做錯。一開始非常嚇人，但回憶起來，這卻是我一生中做的最好的決定之一。從我退學(xué)的那一刻起，我可以停止一切不感興趣的必修課，開始旁聽那些有意思得多的課。

事情并不那么美好。我沒有宿舍可住，睡在朋友房間的地上。為了吃飯，我收集五分一個的舊可樂瓶，每個星期天晚上步行七英里到哈爾#8226;克里什納廟里改善一下一周的伙食。我喜歡這種生活方式。能夠遵循自己的好奇和直覺前行后來被證明是多么的珍貴。讓我來給你們舉個例子吧。

當(dāng)時的里得大學(xué)提供可能是全國最好的書法指導(dǎo)。 校園中每一張海報，抽屜上的每一張標(biāo)簽，都是漂亮的手寫體。由于我已退學(xué)，不用修那些必修課，我決定選修一門書法課。在這門課上，我學(xué)會了“serif”和“sans-serif”兩種字體、學(xué)會了怎樣在不同的字母組合中改變字間距、學(xué)會了怎樣寫出漂亮的字來。這是一種科學(xué)無法捕捉的微妙，楚楚動人、充滿歷史底蘊和藝術(shù)性，我覺得自己完全被吸引了。

一開始實在看不出所有這些會對我的實際生活有什么幫助。但是十年后當(dāng)我們在設(shè)計蘋果第一臺電腦的時候，這些東西都跑出來了，我把它們?nèi)荚O(shè)計到了電腦里。那是第一臺有漂亮字體的電腦。如果我從來沒有選過那門課，蘋果電腦就不會有那些漂亮的字型，又因為微軟是完全拷貝蘋果，很有可能，個人電腦就不會有這些漂亮的字體了。

如果我沒有退學(xué)，我就不會去修那門書法課，個人電腦就不會像現(xiàn)在這樣有令人愉悅的字體了。

當(dāng)然， 當(dāng)我還在大學(xué)時向前預(yù)測是完全不可能把這些點滴串聯(lián)起來的，然而十年后再回顧時，就顯得很明朗了。再說一遍，往前看，是連接不起這些點滴的，只有往后看才行。所以你必須相信，那些點點滴滴，會在你未來的生命里，以某種方式串聯(lián)起來。你必須相信一些東西——你的勇氣、宿命、生活、因緣，隨便什么——因為相信這些點滴能夠一路連接會給你帶來循從本覺的自信，它使你走離平凡，變得與眾不同。

第二個故事是關(guān)于愛與失。我很幸運。很早就發(fā)現(xiàn)自己喜歡做的事情。我二十歲的時候就和沃茨在父母的車庫里開創(chuàng)了蘋果公司。我們工作得很努力，十年后，蘋果公司成長為擁有四千名員工，價值二十億的大公司。一年前我們剛剛推出了我們最好的創(chuàng)意：Macintosh操作系統(tǒng)，一年后，我剛過三十歲就被解雇了。你怎么可能被一個親手創(chuàng)立的公司解雇？事情是這樣的，在公司成長期間，雇傭了一個我們認(rèn)為非常聰明，可以和我一起經(jīng)營公司的人。一年后，我們對公司未來的看法產(chǎn)生分歧，董事長站在了他的一邊。于是，在我三十歲的時候，我出局了，很公開地出局了。我這輩子的焦點沒了，這很要命。一開始的幾個月我真的不知道該干什么。我覺得我讓公司的前一代創(chuàng)建者們失望了，我把傳給我的權(quán)杖給弄丟了。我與戴維德#8226;帕珂德和鮑勃#8226;諾埃斯見面，試圖為這徹頭徹尾的失敗道歉。我敗得如此之慘以至于我想要逃離這兒。有個東西在慢慢地叫醒我。我還愛著我從事的行業(yè)。這次失敗一點兒都沒有改變這一點。我被拒了，但我仍愛著。我決定重新開始。

當(dāng)時我沒有看出來，但事實證明“被蘋果開除”是發(fā)生在我身上最好的事。成功的重?fù)?dān)被重新起步的輕松替代，對任何事情都不再特別看重。這讓我感覺如此自由，進(jìn)入一生中最具有創(chuàng)造力的階段。接下來的五年，我創(chuàng)立了一個叫NeXT的公司，接著又建立了Pixar，然后與后來成為我妻子的好女人相愛。Pixar出品了世界第一個電腦動畫電影：《玩具總動員》，現(xiàn)在它已經(jīng)是世界最成功的動畫制作工作室了。

在一系列的成功運轉(zhuǎn)后，蘋果收購了NeXT，我又回到了蘋果。我們在NeXT開發(fā)的技術(shù)在蘋果的復(fù)興中起了核心作用，另外，勞琳和我組建了一個幸福的家庭。

我非常確信，如果我沒有被蘋果炒掉，這些就都不會發(fā)生。這個藥的味道太糟了，但是我想病人需要它。有些時候，生活會給你迎頭一棒。但不要喪失信心。我確信唯一讓我一路走下來的是我對自己所做事情的熱愛。你必須去找你熱愛的東西，對工作如此，對愛人也是如此。工作會占據(jù)你生命中很大的一部分，你只有相信自己做的是偉大的工作，才會怡然自得。而通常都是喜歡的工作才會是偉大的。如果你還沒有找到，那么就繼續(xù)找，不要停。全心全意地找，當(dāng)你找到時，你就會知道。就像任何真誠的關(guān)系，隨著時間的流逝，只會越來越緊密。所以繼續(xù)找，不要停。

我的第三個故事關(guān)于死亡。我十七歲的時候讀到過一句話“如果你把每一天都當(dāng)作最后一天過，有一天你會發(fā)現(xiàn)你是正確的。”這句話給我留下了深刻的印象。從那以后，過去的三十三年，每天早上我都會對著鏡子問自己：“如果今天是我的最后一天，我會不會做我想做的事情呢？” 當(dāng)答案持續(xù)否定一些次數(shù)后，我知道我需要改變一些東西了。提醒自己就要死了給了我很大的幫助，幫我做了生命中的大決定。因為幾乎任何事——所有的榮耀、驕傲、對難堪和失敗的恐懼——在死亡面前都會消隱，留下真正重要的東西。提醒自己就要死亡是我所知的用來避開擔(dān)心失去某些東西的陷阱的最好方法。你已經(jīng)了無牽掛，沒有理由不聽從于自己的心。

大約一年前，我被診斷出患了癌癥。我早上七點半做了檢查，結(jié)果清楚地顯示在我的胰腺有一個腫瘤。我當(dāng)時都不知道胰腺是什么東西。醫(yī)生們告訴我這幾乎是無法治愈的，還有三到六個月的時間。我的醫(yī)生建議我回家，做一下準(zhǔn)備。在醫(yī)生的辭典中，這就是“準(zhǔn)備死亡”的意思。就是意味著把要對你孩子說十年的話在幾個月內(nèi)說完；意味著把所有東西搞定，盡量讓你的家庭活得輕松一點；意味著你要說“永別”了。

我整日都與診斷書呆在一起。那天晚上我做了一個切片檢查，他們將一個內(nèi)窺鏡伸進(jìn)我的喉嚨，穿過胃，直達(dá)小腸，用一根針在我的胰腺腫瘤上取了幾個細(xì)胞。我當(dāng)時服了鎮(zhèn)定劑，但是我的妻子告訴我，那些醫(yī)生在顯微鏡下看到細(xì)胞的時候開始尖叫，因為發(fā)現(xiàn)這竟然是一種非常罕見的可用手術(shù)治愈的胰腺癌癥。我做了手術(shù)，謝天謝地，我痊愈了。

這是我最接近死亡的時候，我也希望是我未來幾十年里最接近死亡的一次。以前我只覺得死亡是一個有用但純粹書面的概念，這次死里逃生讓我更確信地告訴你們，沒有人愿意死，即使那些想上天堂的人們也不愿意通過死亡來達(dá)到目的。但是死亡是每個人共同的終點，沒有人能夠逃脫。但也應(yīng)該如此，因為死亡很可能是生命最好的發(fā)明。它去陳讓新?，F(xiàn)在，你們就是“新”。但是有一天，不用太久，你們有會慢慢變老然后被清除。抱歉，這很戲劇性，但卻是真的。你們的時間是有限的，不要浪費在重復(fù)別人的生活上。不要被教條束縛，那意味著與別人思考的結(jié)果一塊兒生活。不要被其他人的喧囂觀點掩蓋自己內(nèi)心真正的聲音。你的直覺和內(nèi)心知道你想要變成什么樣子。所有其他東西都是次要的。

我年輕的時候，有一份叫做《完整地球目錄》的好雜志，是我們這一代人的圣經(jīng)之一。它是一個叫斯糾華特#8226;布蘭得，住在離這不遠(yuǎn)的曼羅公園的家伙創(chuàng)立的。他用詩一般的觸覺將這份雜志帶到世界。那是六十年代后期，個人電腦出現(xiàn)之前，所以這份雜志是用打字機、剪刀和偏光鏡制作的。有點像軟皮包裝的google，不過卻早了三十五年。它十分理想主義，全文充斥著靈巧的工具和偉大的想法。斯糾華特和他的小組出版了幾期《完整地球目錄》，在完成使命之前，他們出版了最后一期。那是七十年代中期，當(dāng)時我和你們差不多大。最后一期的封底是一張清晨鄉(xiāng)村小路的照片，如果你有冒險精神，可以自己找到這條路。下面有一句話，“保持饑餓，保持愚蠢?！边@是他們的告別語，“保持饑餓，保持愚蠢?！蔽页Ｒ源嗣銊钭约骸，F(xiàn)在，在你們即將踏上新旅程的時候，我也希望你們能這樣。保持饑餓，保持愚蠢。

謝謝大家，非常感謝。

Link

Steve Paul Jobs 史蒂夫#8226;喬布斯

史蒂夫#8226;喬布斯，1955年2月24日生于美國舊金山，是蘋果電腦的現(xiàn)任首席執(zhí)行長（首席執(zhí)行官）兼創(chuàng)辦人之一。同時也是Pixar動畫公司的董事長及首席執(zhí)行長。1976年，21歲的他與26歲的斯蒂夫#8226;沃茲尼亞克在自家的車房里成立了蘋果電腦。他們制造了世界上首臺個人電腦，并稱為Apple I，其售價是6.66美元。1985年因為內(nèi)部權(quán)力斗爭，Sculley接管了蘋果電腦，并把喬布斯趕出了蘋果電腦。 他離開后創(chuàng)立了NeXT電腦公司，并發(fā)展出NeXT電腦及NeXTstep操作系統(tǒng)。就像Lisa一樣，NeXT擁有最先進(jìn)的技術(shù)，但是不能成為最流行的電腦。同年，獲得了由里根總統(tǒng)親自授予的國家級技術(shù)勛章。1986年他花1000萬美元從喬治#8226;盧卡斯手中收購了Lucasfilm旗下位于加利福尼亞州Emeryville的電腦動畫效果工作室，并成立獨立公司Pixar。在之后十年，Pixar成為了眾所周知的動畫公司。1996年陷入財政困難的蘋果電腦以4億美元收購了NeXT電腦公司，同時喬布斯也回到了蘋果電腦。1997年，當(dāng)Gil Amelio離開公司后，他重掌蘋果電腦的大權(quán)。在同年推出著重外表的iMac，蘋果在美國和日本的大賣使之度過財政危機。并在之后推出深受大眾歡迎的iPod和iTunes音樂商店，使公司的股票大幅上揚。當(dāng)年，他成為《時代周刊》的封面人物；同年被評為“最成功的管理者”，也是聲名顯赫的“計算機狂人”。

他是一個美國式的英雄，幾經(jīng)起伏，但依然屹立不倒，就像海明威在《老人與?！分姓f的，一個人可以被毀滅，但不能被打倒。他創(chuàng)造了“蘋果”，掀起了個人電腦的風(fēng)潮，改變了一個時代，但卻在最頂峰的時候被封殺，從高處落到谷底，但是十二年后，他又卷土重來，重新開始第二個“史蒂夫#8226;喬布斯”時代。

Notes

1. follow your heart

顧名思義，該短語意為“隨自己的心愿，按自己的想法做事”。

例句：

There is no need for you to worry about the breakup so much. Just follow your heart.

關(guān)于分手你沒必要想太多。隨自己的意愿就好。

2. make way for…

指“為某人讓開道路，為某人開路”。

例句：

So many fans were around the exit of the airport and that the bodyguards had to make way for that superstar.

許多歌迷聚在機場出口，保鏢們不得不為那個超級巨星開道。

3. desktop

“臺式電腦”，與其相對應(yīng)的是“l(fā)aptop，筆記本電腦”。

例句：

My old-fashion desktop was replaced with a new laptop.

我把我的古董臺式機換成了筆記本電腦。

4. signed off

意為“結(jié)束、停止”，也可指“廣播信號停止、合同期滿”。

例句：

He said nothing when he signed off and no one knew his whereabouts.

他離開的時候什么也沒說，因此沒有人知道他的下落。