February 11, 2026
Hype or hungry ghosts?
Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish (2005)
20 years later, ‘Stay Hungry’ splits the internet: inspo or “hungry ghosts”
TLDR: Apple released a polished 20th‑anniversary cut of Steve Jobs’s 2005 Stanford speech, still a cultural touchstone. Commenters split between calling it soul-fueling wisdom and worrying it glorifies endless hustle, noting few young people follow Jobs’s offbeat path today—making the motto “Stay Hungry” feel both iconic and controversial.
Apple dropped an enhanced cut of Steve Jobs’s famous 2005 Stanford speech, and the internet promptly staged a group therapy session about ambition. Fans gushed over the timeless lines—“Your time is limited” still hits—while skeptics asked if “Stay Hungry” is just hustle culture in a turtleneck. One commenter went full Zen alarm bell, warning the motto sounds like a fast-track to Buddhism’s “hungry ghosts” realm—eternal craving, zero contentment. Cue debate: inspiration or addiction to the grind?
Others noted the irony that Jobs’s path—dropping out, studying typography, living hippie-lite—looks nothing like today’s résumé-maxing, spreadsheet life plan. As one poster put it, his story is the opposite of the modern blueprint. That split set off a bigger clash: Is the speech a permission slip to get weird and follow your heart, or a fairy tale survivorship bias can’t replicate?
Meanwhile, the trivia fueled memes: students originally wanted Jon Stewart; Jobs wore Birkenstocks under his robe; lots of grads were batting beach balls instead of listening. People joked, “We wanted jokes, got Jobs,” and “Even Steve read from a script,” after noting he delivered it verbatim. The LeBron lore cameo—playing the clip before a crucial 2016 game—sparked quips like “From fonts to Finals,” as the enhanced video hits replay on a very 2005 kind of magic.
Key Points
- •A newly enhanced version of Steve Jobs’s 2005 Stanford commencement address has been released to mark its 20th anniversary, including availability on YouTube.
- •The speech has been viewed over 120 million times, adopted in media and curricula, and was cited as motivational in the Cavaliers’ 2016 NBA Finals run.
- •Jobs framed the talk as three personal stories, emphasizing humanistic themes and including lines such as “Your time is limited…” and “stay hungry, stay foolish.”
- •Preparation spanned six months from an invitation by Stanford’s president; Jobs declined Apple PR input, sought ideas from students and friends, and wrote the speech with his wife Laurene.
- •Delivered verbatim in about 15 minutes at Stanford Stadium, the speech initially met a distracted audience; many later recognized its significance, and Jobs later emailed thanks to class leaders.