Whatever you build, says Kawasaki, it's about passion, and less about money. Your goals should be about changing the world, or making the world a better place, he says. He also talks about his experience growing up thinking that money was the most important thing in life. He advises students to study abroad and to spend as much time learning as possible.
Transcript
Whatever you're building, whatever you're building it's about passion because you love it. If you love it and you changed the world, you will be rich but you shouldn't do it because you want to be rich because it's not -- it's not lofty enough a goal, it's about changing the world. Now there are cases of people who changed the world who didn't make a lot of money, I must admit that, but there are lots of people who set out to only make a lot of money who didn't changed the world and didn't make a lot of money. All right. So if I were you, I'd pick changing the world and just have the optimistic belief that if you do change the world you will make money too. Money is not all it's cracked up to be too, you know but that's a different subject. I'd tell you a little bit. So because I went to Stanford just -- and I'm 48 years old. So I don't expect you to believe me because quite frankly when I was your age I didn't believe people who were over 40. So I don't think anything has changed.
So when I was an undergraduate here in a -- doing Parents Day or whatever they have, I used to see all these parents come and they were driving and they were driving their Porsches and Ferraris and Mercedes and I -- were playing basketball on that court between -- I don't even know what it's called. It's -- is it Merrelies is it still that's the -- I don't know. The dorm is on the other side of the campus. So I've been playing basketball there and I see all these people, their parents driving in Porsches and Ferraris and Mercedes I think, "God, someday I'm going to buy a Porsche or a Ferrari or Mercedes." That's it, that is really it. I'm going to drive on this campus in a Porsche and students are going to look at me and say, "Man, I wish I were him." Okay. So, I've had a few Porsches now I have three kids so I don't have a Porsche I just -- But that's different. That is a -- that's a choice I made. But I've had Porsches. I've had some of the finest Porsches made and I would drive on campus and you know what? As I was driving on campus and I would be looking at you playing basketball in that outdoor court, I look at you and I say, "Man, I wish I were a student again." You know, I wish my biggest problem were my midterm score. I wish my biggest problem were, you know, if I get housing next year or should I go to Stanford in Italy or Stanford in Japan, I mean, I wish these were my problems.
And so that's why I'm telling you, money isn't all that's cracked up to be that you know. I think if I were you guys, I'd give you another piece of advice that's completely orthagonal to this presentation is, while you're at Stanford live off your parents as long as you can. I'm telling you. Like -- see, I was as diligent oriental. It's just like in my DNA. So I was a diligent oriental, I took AP courses in high school, I took a heavily load -- academic load here, I was in such a rush to get into the work force and work for the rest of my life for bozos, okay. So I'm telling you with hindsight that's all wrong. You should take as light a course as possible. And I really regret this, you should go to these overseas campuses as much as you can. Don't be some crazy person who is taking all these engineering courses and trying to ram through because you want to get out there right away.
There's plenty of time to suffer later. Okay. So --
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