Original artwork, not a still
The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It sounds like a motivational poster because it became one, but it comes with a cost in the speech: Jobs says it right after being publicly fired from the company he founded. The point is that passion is what survives the bad years, not that work should be fun. The line is now the default for graduation cards, LinkedIn banners and office walls, and it sits uneasily beside critics who note that not everyone has a job to love.
Context reviewed
In context
May contain spoilersShow the scene
Steve Jobs delivered it as the Stanford University commencement address on 12 June 2005, a speech built from three stories. The line comes at the end of the second, "love and loss": Jobs recounts being fired from Apple at 30, then starting NeXT and Pixar and eventually returning to Apple when it bought NeXT. He says that what kept him going was that he still loved what he did, then tells the graduates they have to find what they love, and that the only way to do great work is to love it. He urges them not to settle.
Sources (2)
- Stanford News: 'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says (prepared text of the 2005 Commencement Address)second story, 'love and loss'Reference checked
- Wikiquote: Steve JobsAddress at Stanford University (2005)Reference checked
Context reviewed
