· Pathos 1. Steve Jobs narrated how he was born to an unwed college graduate student; and how he was put up for adoption. His biological mother had difficulty finding the right foster parents because she wanted her son to be assured of a college education. The first qualified couple decided to adopt a baby girl instead of him.
· Pathos 2. His adoptive parents had to sacrifice their savings for his college education tuition; but he did not have a clear direction of what major to pursue. To lessen his parents’ expenses, he dropped out of subjects that bored him and focused only on those that were interesting to him.
· Pathos 3. He was not able to study in a renowned university because of his parents’ meager savings; and he could not even afford a dorm so he slept on the floor of his friends’ room. He was able to buy food by returning coke bottles; and in order to have a decent meal, he would walk 7 miles to the Hare Krishna temple every Sunday for a free meal.
· Pathos 4. He and his friend Woz founded Apple when he was 20 years old. However, after 10 years, he was fired by the company he successfully established. At age 30, he was uncertain and remained in a mess for several months.
· Pathos 5. When he was financially and emotionally successful again – having married and had children and his Pixar and NeXT were booming, he was diagnosed with a terminal pancreatic cancer. He had to go through the painful process of treatment and endoscopy and was told he had 3-6 months to live.
· Reason for Sharing. Steve Jobs shared the challenges and triumphs of his life in order to make the graduates realize that life is not going to be taken lightly. It is up to every individual how he would play the game of life. Problems are there but there will always be solutions if one is determined and focused. It is a message of hope and encouragement to beat the odds that would surely be encountered by each graduate.
