Steve Jobs et nous : la même génération idéaliste
October 6th, 2011 by Christian AllègreWho said this : #
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 […]Who said this? No, it is not Kirpal Singh, it is Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple computer, in a Commencement Speech at Stanford University, a few years ago, in front of all students and faculty. And he concluded his speech with this: #
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool 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. […]
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 is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. […]
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. And most important, have the courage to follow your 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 Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960’s, 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, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.Steve Jobs, Stewart Brand, c’est notre génération. Ils représentent ce que l’Amérique a toujours produit de meilleur : des entrepreneurs idéalistes et des entreprises qui veulent changer le monde, comme Mainmise et le Répertoire Québécois des Outils Planétaires le furent.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, 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 it 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. #
Texte et vidéo complet.
Nice message, no ? Le fait que ces paroles aient été prononcées à Stanford, une université d’élite coûteuse est assez extraordinaire et ne manque pas d’humour. Mais Stanford est ainsi : on y révère les êtres hors de l’ordinaire, profs comme étudiants. #
En passant, il y a une douzaine d’années, j’ai envoyé un dossier de candidature à un poste au département de français de Stanford. Par la réponse que j’ai reçue du directeur (négative, mais la seule circonstanciée que j’aie jamais reçue à une candidature), j’ai compris que j’avais commis une double erreur : je n’avais pas osé insister sur ce qui faisait mon originalité et j’avais pris Stanford pour une université ordinaire. #
Have a nice day,
Ch. #
