“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are.”
Maya Angelou · interview, 1990s
quolira
quolira.com
The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
About this quote
Meaning
This quote argues that genuine excellence in work is inseparable from genuine love for that work. The logic is straightforward: when you care deeply about what you are doing, you invest more attention, more creative energy, and more willingness to push through difficulty. Work done out of passion tends to reach a level of quality that work done purely out of obligation rarely matches.
Context
Steve Jobs delivered this line during his commencement address at Stanford University in 2005, a speech that has since become one of the most widely shared graduation talks ever recorded. In the address, Jobs spoke about three episodes from his life, including dropping out of college, being removed from Apple, and receiving a diagnosis of cancer. The line about loving your work appeared in the section reflecting on his unexpected departure from Apple and the projects he pursued afterward. It was not an abstract sentiment for him but a conclusion drawn from hard personal experience.
About the author
Steve Jobs was the co-founder of Apple and a central figure in the development of the personal computer, the modern smartphone, and the digital music industry. Born in San Francisco in 1955, he had a career defined by both extraordinary creative ambition and a famously demanding leadership style. He helped build Apple into one of the most valuable companies in the world, left the company under difficult circumstances in the 1980s, and returned in 1997 to lead its revival. He died in October 2011 after a prolonged illness.
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