The Education of Steve Jobs

Apple Computer Inc.'s CEO Steve Jobs told Stanford University graduates Sunday that dropping out of college was one of the best decisions he ever made because it forced him to be innovative - even when it came to finding enough money for dinner.

"Your time is limited so don't let it be wasted living someone else's life," Jobs said to a packed stadium of graduates, alumni and family.

Jobs, 50, said he attended Reed College in Portland, Ore., but dropped out after only eight months because it was too expensive for his working-class family. He said his real education started when he "dropped in" on whatever classes interested him - including calligraphy.

He told the graduates that few friends could see the value of learning calligraphy at the time but that painstaking attention to detail - including mastering different "fonts" - was what set Macintosh apart from its competitors.

The funny thing is that he isn't the only one to have done this: Bill Gates and Michael Dell did the same thing.

Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein both did very badly in a public school setting.

This is just another example showing the power of having a personal interest in a subject and how powerful that can be to learning something.

You have to show your children that you are interested in something. Enthusiasm is contagious and a powerful motivator for your children.

Encourage your children to learn things that they are interested in, but also learn something that you are interested in too.

UPDATE: The full text can be found here as well as video in the sidebar.
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