Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish求知若飢，虛心若愚
“Stay hungry, stay foolish (求知若飢，虛心若愚)” 這句話是蘋果公司創辦人賈伯斯(Steve Jobs)，在2005年史丹佛大學的畢業典禮演講時的結語。賈伯斯用hungry，是要我們保持渴望追求目標的動力及熱情，就像對成功的飢餓一樣，永遠不要滿足於當下，要有飢餓的態度和行動。不管做什麼事，我們都要把自己當個傻子foolish，不要為自己設限，要一直行動下去，要求知若飢，虛心若愚，順從自己的感覺，放心去做就對了。賈伯斯強調，對工作的熱愛，是人生中最大的動力，即使在挫折面前，也不要失去信心，要堅持找到自己熱愛的事物。生命短暫，我們要讓每一天，都過得有意義。我們要不斷地學習與成長，保持對知識的強烈渴求，就像飢餓時想吃飯一樣。我們要勇於突破自己，保持飢餓感，持續前進。再者，我們也要像電影「阿甘正傳」的主角一樣，不要害怕失敗或被嘲笑，要勇敢地嘗試新事物。因為愚蠢的嘗試，可能帶來意想不到的結果。保持愚笨的態度，則能讓我們不被自己的思維所束縛，相信一切都有可能，相信自己可以不斷地學習和成功。 
   Steve Jobs said “Stay hungry, stay foolish” in his famous speech for graduate students at Stanford University in 2005. But this phrase is not from Jobs himself. He quoted it from Stuart Brand’s magazine “The Whole Earth Catalogue,” published during 1960s in America. The quote was printed on the back of the last edition of this publication in 1974, and this was what Jobs wished the students for getting into life and work: Stay hungry, stay foolish. Jobs addressed Stanford’s graduating class in 2005, and his words, his touching stories, insightful quotes, and witty comments really make anyone proudly live by. When Jobs, one of the most successful men of his time, discussed his life as a student, he, too, felt the need to attend college. He faced what many people were deathly afraid of: uncertainty. His lack of understanding caused him to stop attending college. However, it turned out to lead him to learn his favorite calligraphy instead. Jobs talked about raising Apple from its infancy, but being shoved away after a decade of hard work. Nevertheless, his love of the work helped him carry on to greater success. In his speech, Jobs quoted the saying “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” and it has become many people’s motto. Staying foolish is realizing that we are still a fool, no matter how much we’ve learned or experienced. There is always more to explore. Staying hungry is wanting to find those things that we are still unknown and uneducated. In his talk, Jobs recounted three stories. The first was dropping out of Reed College, but showing up for the courses he wanted to take. Dropping out was a tough decision. Then, getting fired from Apple was the second. Clearly, it was not his choice, but it led him to create Pixar Animation Studios. Finally, facing death was so hard for him. When facing death, he realized that he had to follow his own intuition, and not to live other people’s lives. Facing death let him know that he ought to take chances to do what was truly important in his life. He taught us the true meanings of “Stay hungry, stay foolish.”
It is a fact that when we stay hungry and stay foolish for things, the more knowledge we can acquire, and the better we get at succeeding. In other words, the truth is, if we stay hungry and stay foolish at all times, keeping a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset, we would, undeniably, flourish and succeed. First of all, while staying hungry and foolish, we, surely, know our true purposes of life. Anyway, it is the only way we can make a positive impact in the world. We can listen to our hearts and develop our awareness. We, then, would have ambitious, keep going and find ways to develop our ideas in our daily lives. Secondly, to stay foolish is to take risks. Taking risks that other people find irrational are a necessary part for any great success. When people say, “Being a dropout and start a business is foolish,” “Becoming a professional musician is impossible,” and “Devoting our life to solving a worldwide problem that no one else can is crazy,” they might not be true. On the contrary, the world would be boring and unchanged if nobody took the risks. Even though most of the people believe that they cannot change the world, it still does not stop the ones who do them from trying. We could have the courage to try to gain knowledge and have a mindset that challenges the common standards, not to accept them. And more often than not, we would, definitely, stay hungry and even stay foolish to challenge the status quo.
Actually, “Stay hungry, stay foolish” can mean that we make a difference. It is a good advice for anyone to enter adulthood and independence, to go out there in the world, to leave the cocoon of home, to keep the dreams alive and to move forward to where we want to go. When we learn to stay hungry and stay foolish, we might try our best to take risks, think big and change things for the better. And if it does not work, we may be possible to attempt to do something different and keep on going. Albert Einstein said, “The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.” So, once we stay fresh, naïve, hungry and foolish, we really learn and grow. We take on the knowledge. We practice skills. We are never self-satisfied. Brick by brick, we, finally, build the real paths to achieve what we want. It is a timeless call to action. In the end, we are different to pursue our wildest ambitions with tremendous enthusiasm, without regard for the status quo. Learning is a superpower. When we “stay hungry and stay foolish,” we are hunger every day for our desires, we are different, and we never fool ourselves into thinking that we can become who we are today.