During a commencement speech at Tulane this morning, Apple CEO Tim Cook gave graduates a new twist on the old adage about finding a job you love. He also talked about Apple’s vision to “move humanity forward.”
Cook’s advice to young people about to start their careers is “There’s a saying that if you do what you love you’ll never work a day on your life. At Apple, I learned that’s a total crock. You’ll work harder than you ever thought possible… but the tools will feel light in your hands.”
Apple’s hopeful vision of the future
The current CEO of Apple told the Tulane graduates that company co-founder Steve Jobs’ vision inspired him to leave his job at Compaq, which was at the time one of the world’s top PC makers.
“In 1998, Steve Jobs convinced me to leave Compaq behind to join a company that was on the verge of bankruptcy. They made computers, but at that moment at least people weren’t interested in buying them.
“Steve had a plan to change things, and I wanted to be a part of it. It wasn’t just about the iMac or the iPod or everything that came after. It was about the values that brought these inventions to life.
“The idea that putting powerful tools in the hands of everyday people helps unleash creativity and move humanity forward. That we can build things that help us imagine a better world. And then make it real.”
Cook also had something of an apology from Baby Boomers to Generation Z. “In some important ways, my generation has failed you in this regard. We spend too much time debating. We’ve been too focused on the fight, and not focused enough on progress.”
