Stay hungry. Stay foolish.
Genuine
Yes. In Commencement address at Stanford University (2005), Closing wish to the graduates, immediately before the final thanks.
Checked against Steve Jobs, commencement address at Stanford University, 12 June 2005; published transcript in Make Something Wonderful, Steve Jobs Archive, section “Commencement Address at Stanford University”, in a full-text transcription.
- Work
- Commencement address at Stanford University, 2005
- Where
- Closing wish to the graduates, immediately before the final thanks
- Source
- Steve Jobs, commencement address at Stanford University, 12 June 2005; published transcript in Make Something Wonderful, Steve Jobs Archive, section “Commencement Address at Stanford University”
- Checked
- In a full-text transcription
Researched by AI. Entry updated 24 October 2026. Editorial review: pending. How we check
About this quote
Where it comes from
Verified here as words Jobs publicly repeated, not as words he coined. In the speech itself he attributes them to the team behind The Whole Earth Catalog. Wikiquote identifies the issue as Whole Earth Epilog (1974); the Whole Earth Index catalog page confirms an October 1974 issue under that title. The back-cover image was not inspected, so the 1974 wording is not independently verified from the issue in this run and no individual coiner is named.
How it travelled
- 1974Earliest found · credited to The Whole Earth Catalog teamThe back-cover motto appears in Whole Earth Epilog, according to Wikiquote and Jobs’s later account; this is the earliest appearance located in this research, not an independently checked scan.
Stay hungry. Stay foolish.
Whole Earth Epilog (1974), back cover, as identified by Wikiquote, Steve Jobs, Misattributed section, Back cover. Checked on another researcher’s citation, not seen first-hand. Source - 12 June 2005Spread · credited to The Whole Earth Catalog team, quoted by Steve JobsJobs repeats the motto at Stanford, explicitly credits the catalog, and makes it his farewell wish to the graduates.
Stay hungry. Stay foolish.
Steve Jobs, commencement address at Stanford University, 12 June 2005; published transcript in Make Something Wonderful, Steve Jobs Archive, section “Commencement Address at Stanford University”. Checked in a full-text transcription. Source
The scene
At the end of his Stanford address, Jobs recalls a counterculture catalog and its back-cover photograph of a country road. He explicitly credits the catalog’s team for the motto and then repeats it as his own wish for the graduating class. It is the last advice in the speech, followed by his thanks.
What it means
Keep the appetite to discover and attempt things, and do not let respectability or a sense of completion stop you.
Often misread
Jobs did say it, but did not claim to invent it. Quoting the Stanford speech is accurate; calling this his original slogan erases the catalog he credits. Wikiquote therefore places the saying under Misattributed even though the speech documents his repetition of it.
Topics
Related quotes
- When you learn, teach, when you get, give. Maya Angelou
- History, despite its wrenching pain Cannot be unlived, but if faced With courage, need not be lived again. Maya Angelou
- When you know better, you do better. Maya Angelou
- You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. Dr. Seuss
- Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.
Sources
Cite it
Steve Jobs, Commencement address at Stanford University (2005), Closing wish to the graduates, immediately before the final thanks. Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/stay-hungry-stay-foolish/ (24 October 2026).
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Checked by people
People who checked this entry against its source, under their own names. Their checks do not change the verdict: an editor reviews every entry.
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