American technology giant and iPhone maker, co-founder and former CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, delivered his commencement speech and famous words of wisdom to undergraduate students at Stanford University more than 20 years ago.
A quote from Steve Jobs comes to mind that professionals can use, especially as the work culture environment around the world is changing. More and more people are prioritizing work-life balance and resigning themselves to what they perceive as a “stressful work culture” to avoid the constant pressure to achieve results.
However, few people realize that this widely shared quote was part of a much larger message that Steve Jobs delivered during his commencement speech at Stanford University. The line about loving your job wasn’t just motivational advice; it formed part of a larger reflection on life, purpose, and the courage to follow one’s intuition.
Quote of the day from Steve Jobs
“Your work fills a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.”
What does the quote mean?
The quote comes from a famous part of the Stanford University commencement speech given by Steve Jobs in 2005, where he talked about passion, purpose and finding meaning in work.
During the speech, Jobs emphasized that work occupies a significant part of a person’s life, so choosing something meaningful as a career is essential. If someone spends decades doing a job they don’t believe in, it can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction.
According to Jobs, true fulfillment comes from doing work that is important and meaningful, rather than just chasing money or status.
Second, he explains that believing your work is “great work” takes passion and conviction. When people care about what they do, they are more likely to push their boundaries, innovate and sail through challenges. This passion is often what separates ordinary work from impressive work.
Finally, Jobs also emphasizes that the only way to produce great work is to love what you do. If someone hasn’t found a job that really matters to them, he advises them to keep looking and not settle. In his view, personal satisfaction and professional excellence are closely linked, and finding purpose is the key to a fulfilling career.
HDFC Bank CEO resigns over disagreements
The corporate world is increasingly placing great emphasis on work ethics. In one such instance, HDFC Bank’s part-time chairman Atanu Chakraborty this month resigned from his post at India’s second-largest bank, citing differences over “values and ethics”.
In his resignation letter, which HDFC Bank shared with stock exchanges late on Wednesday, Chakraborty did not specify exactly what prompted him to step down from the role. His letter was addressed to HDFC Bank Governance, Nomination and Remuneration Committee Chairman HK Bhanwala.
Similarly, the head of Anthropic’s security research team, Mrinank Sharma, announced his resignation on 9 February 2026 through a cryptic social media post, fueling mass speculation about the reasons for his sudden departure from the company.
Although Sharma did not give a specific reason for his decision, he said that the constant pressure forced him to put aside what mattered most to him, suggesting that he may be referring to his values.
The Early Life and Career of Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco, California and died on October 5, 2011. The former technology executive was known as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer era.
Jobs was raised by adoptive parents in Cupertino, California, which is now Silicon Valley. According to Britannica, he left Reed College in Portland, Oregon in early 1974 to work as a video game designer at Atari Corporation.
Steve Jobs went into business with another Steve, Steve Wozniak, building blue boxes that phone phreaks used to make free calls across the country. The pair founded Apple in 1976. They started their business by selling the Apple I, which was a PC-building kit.
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Wozniak did most of the building and Jobs handled the sales, so the two made enough money in the hobbyist market to invest in the Apple II. It was the Apple II that created the company that was founded in 1977.
According to Investopedia, Apple was already making more than $5 million in net income by 1979 on the strength of the Apple II alone. Then the company went public in 1980. Over the years, Apple’s legacy has grown steadily.
It was the first company to break the $1 trillion mark in market capitalization, and later $2 trillion and $3 trillion. The company’s success was largely linked to the lessons learned from Steve Jobs.
