苹果CEO库克MIT毕业演讲：不要让杂音干扰自己[中英双语]

第一篇：苹果CEO库克MIT毕业演讲：不要让杂音干扰自己[中英双语]

苹果CEO库克MIT毕业演讲：不要让杂音干扰自己[中英双语]

2017-6-09 Hello, MIT!Thank you.Congratulations class of ‟17.I especially want to thank Chairman Millard, President Reif, distinguished faculty, trustees, and the members of the class of 1967.It is a privilege to be here today with your families and your friends on such on amazing and important day.你好，麻省理工学院。谢谢大家，2017届毕业生，祝贺你们。我要特别感谢米拉德主席，雷夫校长，杰出的全体员工理事，以及1967届毕业生（50年前毕业的MIT老校友）。今天，我能在各位毕业生家人和朋友们的见证下，与各位共同度过这美好而重要的一天，我非常荣幸。

MIT and Apple share so much.We both love hard problems.We love the search for new ideas, and we especially love finding those ideas, the really big ones, the ones that can change the world.I know MIT has a proud tradition of pranks or as you would call them, hacks.And you have have pulled off some pretty great ones over the years.I‟ll never figure out how MIT students sent that Mars rover to the Kresge Oval, or put a propeller beanie on the great dome, or how you‟ve obviously taken over the president‟s Twitter account.I can tell college students are behind because most of the Tweets happen at 3:00 a.m.MIT和苹果是如此的相似：我们乐于挑战难题，我们喜欢搜寻新的想法,我们尤其热衷于寻找那些能改变世界的新想法。我知道MIT有喜爱恶作剧的光荣传统——大家称之为黑客。近年来，你们确实完成了一些非常棒的恶作剧，我也无论如何想不通MIT的学生是如何把一辆火星探测器送到演讲厅的，或是如何把螺旋桨放到MIT标志建筑——“大圆顶”上。很明显，你们还接管了特朗普的推特账号——毕竟凌晨三点发推特这种事，也只有你们大学生才干得出。

I‟m really happy to be here.Today is about celebration.And you have so much to be proud of.As you leave here to start the next leg of your journey in life, there will be days where you ask yourself, „Where is this all going?‟ „What is the purpose?‟ „What is my purpose?‟ I will be honest, I asked myself that same question and it took nearly 15 years to answer it.Maybe by talking about my journey today, I can save you some time.我真的很高兴能来到这里，今天是值得庆祝的日子，你们也应该为自己感到骄傲。当你们离开MIT走上人生新的旅途时，你们一定会不断问自己：我的路通向何方？何为目标？我的目标是什么？老实说，我也问过自己同样的问题，并花费将近15年的时间找到了答案。今天，我希望通过谈自身的经历，让各位节省一些时间。

The struggle for me started early on.In high school, I thought I discovered my life‟s purpose when I could answer that age-old question, „What do you want to be when you grow up?‟ Nope.In college I thought I‟d discover it when I could answer, „What‟s your major?‟ Not quite.I thought that maybe I‟d discovered it when I found a good job.Then I thought I just needed to get a few promotions.That didn‟t work either.我很早就有了奋斗目标。高中时，我认为只要能回答“长大后你想做什么”这种老掉牙的问题，就可以找到自己的人生目标。其实不然。在大学时，我认为只要能明确“你的专业是什么”，就可以找到答案。事实也并非如此。我还曾认为只要我找到了好工作就自然会知道答案，之后我又认为只要升职我就能找到人生目标。然而在经历这些之后，我仍未找到答案。

I kept convincing myself that it was just over the horizon, around the next corner.Nothing worked.And it was really tearing me apart.Part of me kept pushing ahead to the next achievement.And the other part kept asking, „Is this all there is?‟ I went to grad school at Duke looking for the answer.I tried meditation.I sought guidance in religion.I read great philosophers and authors.And in a moment of youthful indiscretion, I might even have experimented with a Windows PC, and obviously that didn‟t work.我不断说服自己：我的人生目标已经触手可及了，或许就在下一个拐角。然而事实是我依然没有找到它。这种沮丧几乎要将我撕成两半，一半想要我继续向前，取得更高的成就，另一半却在不断地自问：这就是你全部的人生意义吗？之后我去了杜克大学攻读硕士学位，试图在这里寻找答案——我尝试了冥想，我寻了求宗教的指引，我读了大量的哲学和文学书籍，我甚至还试验过Windows系统电脑，当然，这也没有奏效。

After countless twists and turns, at last, 20 years ago, my search brought me to Apple.At the time, the company was struggling to survive.Steve Jobs had just returned to Apple, and had launched the „Think Different‟ campaign.He wanted to empower the crazy ones—the misfits, the rebels and the troublemakers, the round pegs, and the square holes—to do the best work.If we could just do that, Steve knew we could really change the world.走过了无数的弯路，我在20年前来到了苹果。当时，苹果公司的处境很艰难。史蒂夫·乔布斯回归苹果不久，发起了“不同凡响”（Think different）活动，他想要支持那些疯狂的家伙们。那些桀骜不驯者，反叛者和不断制造麻烦的人，他希望这些人能做出最棒的成果。史蒂夫相信，如果我们能做到，我们就可以改变世界。

Before that moment, I had never met a leader with such passion or encountered a company with such a clear and compelling purpose: to serve humanity.It was just that simple.Serve humanity.And it was in that moment, after 15 years of searching, something clicked.I finally felt aligned.Aligned with a company that brought together challenging, cutting edge work with a higher purpose.Aligned with a leader who believed that technology which didn‟t exist yet could reinvent tomorrow‟s world.Aligned with myself and my own deep need to serve something greater.在那之前，我从未遇到过如此激情四溢的领导，也从未遇到过哪家公司有如此清晰而令人敬佩的目标——为全人类服务。就是这么简单的一句话，为全人类服务。也就是在这一刻，在寻找人生目标15年后的我，突然找到了答案。我终于在这里找到了归属感，这家公司有着如此崇高的目标，并将这一目标与极具挑战性和前沿性的工作结合在一起。我也坚定地支持着史蒂夫，因为我们都相信彼时尚未存在的技术能彻底改变未来。我也终于找到了自我，坚定了服务于更多人的决心。

Of course, at that moment I don‟t know all of that.I was just grateful to have psychological burden lifted.But with the help of hindsight, my breakthrough makes a lot more sense.I was never going to find my purpose working some place without a clear sense of purpose of its own.Steve and Apple freed me to throw my whole self into my work, to embrace their mission and make it my own.How can I serve humanity? This is life‟s biggest and most important question.When you work towards something greater than yourself, you find meaning, you find purpose.So the question I hope you will carry forward from here is how will you serve humanity? 当然，在那时我并没有意识到这些。我只是非常欣慰，我终于卸下了心理负担。在之此后回顾往昔，一切都不言自明。如果我所在的公司本身都没有明确的目标，那么我也永远不会找到自己的人生目标。史蒂夫和苹果解放了我，让我全身心投入工作，让我接受他们的使命，并将其变成自己的使命。我如何来服务全人类？这是人生最重要的问题。若你致力于一项超越自身的事业，你就能找到人生的意义和目标。所以我希望大家能带着这个问题走出我们的会场，走上人生旅途：你将如何来服务全人类？

The good news is since you are here today you are on a great track.At MIT you have learned how much power that science and technology have to change the world for the better.Thanks to discoveries made right here, billions of people are leading healthier, more productive and more fulfilling lives.And if we‟re ever going to solve some of the hardest problems facing the world today, everything from cancer to climate change to educational inequality, then technology will help us to do it.But technology alone isn‟t the solution.And sometimes it‟s even part of the problem.好消息是，今天大家能在这里，说明已经有了一个不错的开始。在MIT，你们已经见识了科学与技术是如何改变世界的。正因为MIT这些伟大的发现，上亿人都过上了更加健康，高效而充实的生活。在我们解决诸如癌症，气候变化和教育不平等这些当今世界面临的最棘手的问题时，技术都能助我们一臂之力。然而，只靠技术是不能解决问题的，甚至技术本身也会成为一种问题。

Last year I had the chance to meet with Pope Francis.It was the most incredible meeting of my life.This is a man who has spent more time comforting the inflicted in slums than with heads of state.This may surprise you, but he knew an unbelievable amount about technology.It was obvious to me that he had thought deeply about it.Its opportunity.Its risks.Its morality.What he said to me at that meeting, what he preached, really, was on a topic that we care a lot about at Apple.But he expressed a shared concern in a powerful new way: Never has humanity had such power over itself, yet nothing ensures it will be used wisely, he has said.去年我有幸见到了教皇方济各。这是我人生中最不可思议的一次会面。相比于会见国家元首的时间而言，他花费了更多时间去慰藉遭受痛苦的贫民。更让人吃惊的是，教皇不但十分了解科学技术，且对于科技的理解非常深刻，如技术带来的机遇，风险，伦理挑战。在见面时他所谈论的，也正是我们苹果公司所关注的。他也用一种振聋发聩的方式表达了我们共同的担忧：人类从未拥有过如此强大的力量，但却没有任何能确保这种力量不被滥用的相应措施。

Technology today is integral to almost all aspects of our lives and most of the time it‟s a force for good.And yet the potential adverse consequences are spreading faster and cutting deeper.The threats to security, threats to privacy, fake news, and social media that becomes antisocial.Sometimes the very technology that is meant to connect us divides us.Technology is capable of doing great things.But it doesn‟t want to do great things.It doesn‟t want anything.That part takes all of us.It takes our values and our commitment to our families and our neighbors and our communities, our love of beauty and belief that all of our faiths are interconnected, our decency, our kindness.如今，科技已经渗透到我们生活的方方面面。在大多数情况下，它也都能被加以善用。然而，它潜在的负面影响也在快速传播，并且带来更深的影响，诸如安全和隐私威胁、虚假新闻，反社会的社交媒体。有时候，那些连接你我的技术反而会分裂我们。科技能够成就伟大，但科技本身并不想成就伟大，因为技术本身是没有目的的。科技的这一特点需要我们所有人为之奋斗，需要我们的时间，需要我们对家人、邻居和社区的奉献，需要我们对美的热爱，需要我们的信念、正直和善良相互联系。

I‟m not worried about artificial intelligence giving computers the ability to think like humans.I‟m more concerned about people thinking like computers without values or compassion, without concern for consequences.That is what we need you to help us guard against.Because if science is a search in the darkness, then the humanities are a candle that shows us where we‟ve been and the danger that lies ahead.我不担心人工智能能够让计算机像人类一样思考。我更担心人类像计算机一样思考——没有价值观，没有怜悯心，全然不顾后果——而这些也正是我需要你们去捍卫的东西。如果说科学就是在黑暗中探索，那么人性就是黑暗中的烛光，为我们照亮走过的路，揭露前方隐藏的危险。

As Steve once said, technology alone is not enough.It is technology married with the liberal arts married with the humanities that make our hearts sing.When you keep people at the center of what you do, it can have an enormous impact.It means an iPhone that allows the blind person to run a marathon.It means an Apple Watch that catches a heart condition before it becomes a heart attack.It means an iPad that helps a child with autism connect with his or her world.In short, it means technology infused with your values, making progress possible for everyone.史蒂夫曾说过，科技本身是不够的。科技和人文的联姻才是能够震撼心灵的歌唱。如果你做的一切都以人为本，就可以产生巨大的影响。这正如iphone能够让盲人参加马拉松、Apple watch能够监测心脏问题从而预防心脏病，Ipad能够帮助自闭症儿童更加紧密地联系世界。简而言之，注入了价值观的技术才能够使得所有人共同进步。

Whatever you do in your life, and whatever we do at Apple, we must infuse it with the humanity that each of us is born with.That responsibility is immense, but so is the opportunity.I‟m optimistic because I believe in your generation, your passion, your journey to serve humanity.We are all counting on you.There is so much out there conspiring to make you cynical.The internet has enabled so much and empowered so many, but it can also be a place where basic rules of decency are suspended and pettiness and negativity thrive.不论将来你从事什么，不论将来苹果公司开发什么，我们必须在科技中注入我们与生俱来的人性，这是巨大的责任，但也包含着无限机遇。我很乐观，因为我相信你们这一代，相信你们的激情，相信你们服务全人类的决心，我们都指望着你们。现在，社会上有很多事情令你们愤世嫉俗。互联网成就了那么多事，但同样可能让基本的道德和礼仪消失殆尽，滋养着消极和负面的事物。

Don‟t let that noise knock you off course.Don‟t get caught up in the trivial aspects of life.Don‟t listen to trolls and for God‟s sake don‟t become one.Measure your impact in humanity not in the likes, but the lives you touch;not in popularity, but in the people you serve.I found that my life got bigger when I stopped carrying about what other people thought about me.You will find yours will too.Stay focused on what really matters.There will be times when your resolve to serve humanity will be tested.Be prepared.People will try to convince you that you should keep your empathy out of your career.Don‟t accept this false premise.不要让这些杂音干扰自己。不要为生活琐事拖慢前行的节奏。不要听信那些魔鬼的话，更不要成为他们。衡量你能带给人类影响的标准，不在于点赞有多少，而在于你改善了多少人的生活；不在于你受欢迎的程度，而在于你服务了多少人。我发现，当我不再关心别人如何看待我，我的人生豁然开朗。有一天，你们也会感同身受，集中注意力于真正重要的事情。你们服务全人类的决心或许会在某个时刻受到考验，请做好准备。人们会试图说服你不要将同理心带到工作中，请不要被这种荒谬的说法误导。

At a shareholders meeting a few years back, someone questioned Apple‟s investment and focus on the environment.He asked me to pledge that Apple would only invest in green initiatives that could be justified with a return on investment.I tried to be diplomatic.I pointed out that Apple does many things, like accessibility features for those with disabilities that don‟t rely on an ROI.We do the things because they are the right thing to d, and protecting the environment is a critical example.He wouldn‟t let it go and I got my blood up.So I told him, “If you can‟t accept our position, you shouldn‟t own Apple stock.”

在几年前的一场股东会议上，有人针对苹果的投资退出质疑——质疑尤其聚焦在我们投资的环保事业上。有人让我承诺，苹果只会投资那些能够保证足够投资回报的环保企业。我试图回应得老道一些，于是我指出：苹果做过的很多事都未依赖于投资回报，比如为残疾人提供无障碍措施。我们做这些事，不是为了营利，而是因为这些是正确的事，保护环境也是其一。他对我的回应并不买账，我非常恼火，于是告诉他：如果你不接受我们的立场，就不该持有苹果股票。

When you are convinced that your cause is right, have the courage to take a stand.If you see a problem or an injustice, recognize that no one will fix it but you.As you go forward today, use your minds and hands and your hearts to build something bigger than yourselves.Always remember there is no idea bigger than this.As Dr.Martin Luther King said, “All life is interrelated.We are all bound together into a single garment of destiny.” If you keep that idea at the forefront of all that you do, if you choose to live your lives at that intersection between technology and the people it serves, if you strive to create the best, give the best, do the best for everyone, not just for some, then today all of humanity has good cause for hope.Thank you very much and congratulations class of 2017!如果你确信自己的目标是对的，那就鼓起勇气坚持自己的立场。如果看到了问题或不公正，你要坚信自己能改变它。从今往后，请用你们的头脑、双手和决心，去创建比私利更伟大的东西。请永远记住，这就是你最重要的信念。正如马丁·路德·金所说，“所有生命都相互联结，我们都被命运捆绑在一起”。如果你们在行动前能够牢记这一信念，如果你们在科技和人类之间正确平衡和生活，如果你愿意为生活当中遇到的每个人都尽你所能，那么人类的未来是充满希望的。

非常感谢各位，恭喜MIT 2017届毕业生！

---by wj498624370

第二篇：苹果CEO库克在华盛顿大学2015年毕业典礼演讲 中英双语

苹果CEO库克在华盛顿大学2015年毕业典礼演

（2015-05-20）

5月18日，苹果首席执行官蒂姆·库克（Tim Cook）参加了美国乔治华盛顿大学毕业典礼，并发表了题为《总会有人改变世界的——这个人可能就是你》（someone has to change the world — it might as well be you）的主题演讲。

与十年前乔布斯的“求知若饥，虚心若愚”遥相呼应，库克这次面对乔治华盛顿大学即将走向社会的毕业生讲出的“金句”也是频频发人深省。

公平是一种权利！毕业生要与不公平抗争

库克发表演讲的地方是在华盛顿国家广场，那里距离华盛顿纪念碑不远。华盛顿大学宣称，当时有2.5万人参加此次毕业典礼，包括6000名毕业生。库克称：“正是在这里，金挑战所有美国人，让民主的观念深入人心。正是在这里，里根总统号召我们相信自己，相信我们能够做出伟业。大学毕业生应该坚守自己的信念，他还说自己一路奋斗走来，让他愈发觉得，公平是一种权利，而作为毕业生要勇于与不公平做抗争。”

·与州长见面不是我的荣誉，握着他的手就像是对我信仰的背叛

演讲刚开始，库克就讲述了美国近代史的一些故事。他说，他心中的英雄是马丁路德金和总统肯尼迪，因为他们将正义和民主带到现实中来。16 岁时库克因为获得一次论文大赛的奖项，时任阿拉巴马州州长 George Wallace 亲自接待了库克以及其他获奖的小伙伴。而库克为 Wallace 的“接见”感到耻辱，因为后者曾推进种族隔离，并禁止黑人上大学。他说：”与州长见面不是我的荣誉，握着他的手就像是对我信仰的背叛。”

·毕业生们不光要吃饱饭 也要坚持梦想 你不必在“做正确的事”和“好的生活”中作抉择。若说乔布斯的那次演讲代表着一往无前的勇气，库克的理念则更接地气，他希望同学们在吃饱肚子的前提下坚持梦想。

·总会有人改变世界，可能就是你

他还鼓励学生：“不要害怕挑战，也不要一味愤世嫉俗或批评别人，历史从来都不是由一个人写下的，但也从来不会忘记一个人的贡献，这个写下历史的人可能就是你，那个人应该就是你，那个人必须就是你。”

·我遇到的第一个让我开始质疑一切的人就是史蒂夫·乔布斯

库克谈到，当时他年近40，浑浑噩噩，正如当时的苹果公司。直到乔布斯邀请他去改变世界，让他所有关于未来的假设被颠覆。当时的库克觉得改变世界很好，但是与工作无关，而乔布斯认为这就应该是同一件事。

·你必须找到你的北斗星（价值观），那意味着你必须做出选择

“我们认为一个具有价值观并真心为其付出的公司真的可以改变世界。个人也是一样。这可能是你，也一定是你。毕业生们，你们的价值观十分重要。它们是你的北极星。否则，它就只是一个工作，对于工作来说人生太短了……寻找你的北极星。让它指导你在生活和工作，或者说你一生奉献的工作……”库克说。

·将强大的技术转变成容易使用的工具。这些工具可帮助人们实现自己的梦想，更好地改变世界

史蒂夫创造了一个成功的公司，然后被赶走。当他再回来时，公司已是一座废墟。他正打算把一生奉献给公司，尽管当时并不知道苹果将达到无人能想象的高度。很多人不记得，当时的苹果放任自流、群龙无首，但史蒂夫相信苹果能再次变得伟大。他问我是否愿意加入。他对苹果的愿景是把强大的科技变成好用的工具，用这些工具帮助人们实现梦想，并把世界变的更好。·世界需要你的能量、热情，和你躁动的努力

你们不用从“做对的事情”和“过好的生活”中抉择，这根本不是一个抉择，尤其在今天。工作应该是：让你付起房租，吃饱肚子，然后做正确、正当的好事。无论你从事什么工作，都会有批评者和愤世者打击你，同时也有很多沉默的好心人。仍有人在被迫害，仍有疾病需要治疗，世界需要你的能量、热情，和你躁动的努力。

·在硅谷，人们相信任何问题都能被解决，无论它有多么困难

在演讲结束前，库克还提及苹果和硅谷的价值观。库克说，在硅谷，人们相信任何问题都能被解决，无论它有多么困难。这是非常真诚的乐观精神。苹果也信奉类似价值观。他说：“我在苹果的一个朋友喜欢这样说：解决问题的最好方式就是走出满是苹果工程师的房间，远离‘这不可能’的论调。取得重大进展是可能的，无论你做出何种选择，总是有冷眼旁观者和批评者，同时好心却无贡献者也对实现目标毫无意义。”

·加入苹果17年来，我从未后悔过

库克表示，他当时依然忠于自己的价值观，但只在工作中坚持它们。他说：“我觉得工作就是工作。在工作中保持专业性和谦逊态度非常重要。但乔布斯是个理想主义者，他让我相信：如果我们努力工作，制作出更好产品，我们也能改变世界。我接受了他的邀请，这改变了我的生活。17年来，我从未后悔过。”

离开讲台前，库克还拿出自己的iPhone 6，拍摄了一张众多毕业生的照片。这种至今为止只有苹果才会缔造出的社会价值在即将毕业的莘莘学子面前讲述是再适合不过的了。

这是一种最好的广告，也是一份最平常的“炫耀”。

Thank you very much President Knapp for that kind intro.Alex, trustees, faculty and deans of the university, my fellow honorees, and especially you the class of 2015.Yes.Congratulations to you, to your family, to your friends that are attending today's ceremony.You made it.It's a privilege, a rare privilege of a lifetime to be with you today.And I think thank you enough for making me an honorary Colonial.Before I begin today, they asked me to make a standard announcement.You’ve heard this before.About silencing your phones.Those of you with an iPhone, just place it in silent mode.If you don't have an iPhone, please pass it to the center aisle.Apple has a world-class recycling program.You know, this is really an amazing place.And for a lot of you, I’m sure that being here in Washington, the very center of our democracy, was a big draw when you were choosing which school to go to.This place has a powerful pull.It was here that Dr.Martin Luther King challenged Americans to make real the promises of democracy, to make justice a reality for all of God's children.And it was here that President Ronald Reagan called on us to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds.I'd like to start this morning by telling you about my first visit here.In the summer of 1977--yes, I’m a little old--I was 16 years old and living in Robertsdale, the small town in southern Alabama that I grew up in.At the end of my junior year of high school I’d won an essay contest sponsored by the National Rural Electric Association.I can't remember what the essay was about, what I do remember very clearly is writing it by hand, draft after draft after draft.Typewriters were very expensive and my family could not afford one.I was one of two kids from Baldwin County that was chosen to go to Washington along with hundreds of other kids across the country.Before we left, the Alabama delegation took a trip to our state capitol in Montgomery for a meeting with the governor.The governor's name was George C.Wallace.The same George Wallace who in 1963 stood in the schoolhouse door at the University of Alabama to block African Americans from enrolling.Wallace embraced the evils of segregation.He pitted whites against blacks, the South against the North, the working class against the so-called elites.Meeting my governor was not an honor for me.My heroes in life were Dr.Martin Luther King, and Robert F.Kennedy, who had fought against the very things that Wallace stood for.Keep in mind, that I grew up, or, when I grew up, I grew up in a place where King and Kennedy were not exactly held in high esteem.When I was a kid, the South was still coming to grips with its history.My textbooks even said the Civil War was about states’ rights.They barely mentioned slavery.So I had to figure out for myself what was right and true.It was a search.It was a process.It drew on the moral sense that I’d learned from my parents, and in church, and in my own heart, and led me on my own journey of discovery.I found books in thepublic library that they probably didn't know they had.They all pointed to the fact that Wallace was wrong.That injustices like segregation had no place in our world.That equality is a right.As I said, I was only 16 when I met Governor Wallace, so I shook his hand as we were expected to do.But shaking his hand felt like a betrayal of my own beliefs.It felt wrong.Like I was selling a piece of my soul.From Montgomery we flew to Washington.It was the first time I had ever been on an airplane.In fact it was the first time that I traveled out of the South.On June 15, 1977, I was one of 900 high schoolers greeted by the new president, President Jimmy Carter, on the south lawn of the White House, right there on the other side of the ellipse.I was one of the lucky ones, who got to shake his hand.Carter saw Baldwin County on my name tag that day and stopped to speak with me.He wanted to know how people were doing after the rash of storms that struck Alabama that year.Carter was kind and compassionate;he held the most powerful job in the world but he had not sacrificed any of his humanity.I felt proud that he was president.And I felt proud that he was from the South.In the space of a week, I had come face to face with two men whoguaranteed themselves a place in history.They came from the same region.They were from the same political party.They were both governors of adjoining states.But they looked at the world in very different ways.It was clear to me, that one was right, and one was wrong.Wallace had built his political career by exploiting divisions between us.Carter's message on the other hand, was that we are all bound together, every one of us.Each had made a journey that led them to the values that they lived by, but it wasn't just about their experiences or their circumstances, it had to come from within.My own journey in life was just beginning.I hadn't even applied for college yet at that point.For you graduates, the process of discovering yourself, of inventing yourself, of reinventing yourself is about to begin in earnest.It's about finding your values and committing to live by them.You have to find your North Star.And that means choices.Some are easy.Some are hard.And some will make you question everything.Twenty years after my visit to Washington, I met someone who made me question everything.Who upended all of my assumptions in the very best way.That was Steve Jobs.Steve had built a successful company.He had been sent away and he returned to find it in ruins.He didn't know it at the time, but he was about to dedicate the rest of his life to rescuing it, and leading it to heights greater than anyone could ever imagine.Anyone, that is, except for Steve.Most people have forgotten, but in 1997 and early 1998, Apple had been adrift for years.Rudderless.But Steve thought Apple could be great again.And he wanted to know if I’d like to help.His vision for Apple was a company that turned powerful technology into tools that were easy to use, tools that would help people realize their dreams.And change the world for the better.I had studied to be an engineer and earned an M.B.A.I was trained to be pragmatic, a problem solver.Now I found myself sitting before and listening to this veryanimated 40-something guy with visions of changing the world.It was not what I had expected.You see, when it came to my career, in 1998, I was also adrift.Rudderless.I knew who I was in my personal life, and I kept my eye on my North Star, myresponsibility to do good for someone else, other than myself.But at work, well I always figured that work was work.Values had their place and, yes, there were things that I wanted to change about the world, but I thought I had to do that on my own time.Not in the office.Steve didn't see it that way.He was an idealist.And in that way he reminded me of how I felt as a teenager.In that first meeting he convinced me if we worked hard and made great products, we too could help change the world.And to mysurprise, I was hooked.I took the job and changed my life.It's been 17 years and I have never once looked back.At Apple we believe the work should be more than just about improving your own self.It's about improving the lives of others as well.Our products do amazing things.And just as Steve envisioned, they empower people all over the world.People who are blind, and need information read to them because they can't see the screen.People for whom technology is a lifeline because they are isolated by distance or disability.People whowitness target=_blank class=infotextkey>witness injustice and want to expose it, and now they can because they have a camera in their pocket all the time.Our commitment goes beyond the products themselves to how they’re made.To our impact on the environment.To the role we play in demanding and promoting equality.And in improving education.We believe that a company that has values and acts on them can really change the world.And an individual can too.That can be you.That must be you.Graduates, your values matter.They are your North Star.And work takes on new meaning when you feel you are pointed in the right direction.Otherwise, it's just a job, and life is too short for that.We need the best and brightest of your generation to lead in government and in business.In the science and in the arts.In journalism and in academia.There is honor in all of these pursuits.And there is opportunity to do work that is infused with moral purpose.You don't have to choose between doing good and doing well.It's a false choice, today more than ever.Your challenge is to find work that pays the rent, puts food on the table, and lets you do what is right and good and just.So find your North Star.Let it guide you in life, and work, and in your life's work.Now, I suspect some of you aren't buying this.I won't take it personally.It's no surprise that people are skeptical, especially here in Washington.Where these days you’ve got plenty of reason to be.And a healthy amount of skepticism is fine.Though too often in this town, it turns to cynicism.To the idea that no matter who’s talking or what they’re saying, that their motives are questionable, their character is suspect, and if you search hard enough, you can prove that they are lying.Maybe that's just the world we live in.But graduates, this is your world to change.As I said, I am a proud son of the South.It's my home, and I will always love it.But for the last 17 years I’ve built a life in Silicon Valley;it's a special place.The kind of place where there’s no problem that can't be solved.No matter how difficult or complex, that's part of its essential quality.A very sincere sort of optimism.Back in the 90s, Apple ran an advertising campaign we called “Think Different.” It was pretty simple.Every ad was a photograph of one of our heroes.People who had the audacity to challenge and change the way we all live.People like Gandhi and Jackie Robinson, Martha Graham and Albert Einstein, Amelia Earhart and Miles Davis.These people still inspire us.They remind us to live by our deepest values and reach for our highest aspirations.They make us believe that anything is possible.A friend of mine at Apple likes to say the best way to solve aproblem is to walk into a room full of Apple engineers and proclaim, “this is impossible.”

I can tell you, they will not accept that.And neither should you.So that's the one thing I’d like to bring to you all the way from Cupertino, California.The idea that greatprogress is possible, whatever line of work you choose.There will always be cynics and critics on the sidelines tearing people down, and just as harmful are those people with good intentions who make no contribution at all.In his letter from the Birmingham jail, Dr.King wrote that our society needed to repent, not merely for the hateful words of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.The sidelines are not where you want to live your life.The world needs you in the arena.There are problems that need to be solved.Injustices that need to be ended.People that are still being persecuted, diseases still in need of cure.No matter what you do next, the world needs your energy.Your passion.Your impatience with progress.Don'tshrink from risk.And tune out those critics and cynics.History rarely yields to one person, but think, and never forget, what happens when it does.That can be you.That should be you.That must be you.Congratulations Class of 2015.I’d like to take one photo of you, because this is the bestview in the world.And it's a great one.Thank you very much.