Tim Cook in his commencement address at the George Washington University implored upon the passing out students to follow some of the same principles that Steve Jobs had imbibed in him years ago.
"You have to find your North Star, and that means choices," said Cook. "Some are easy, some are hard, and some will make you question everything."
Cook recounted how he was convinced by Jobs to join Apple when the company was faltering, and how that turned out to be the most defining moment of his career. Jobs strongly believed in changing people's lives through the use of technology, something that Cook has imbibed in himself to the core. The legacy continues to be the central theme that directs the way Apple works and delivers even now, four years after the demise of Jobs.
"Apple's products empower people all over the world: People who are blind and can have things read to them," said Cook. "People who are isolated by distance or disability. People who witness injustice and want to expose it - and now they can because they have a camera in their pocket all the time."
Cook also stressed on the importance of civil liberties and equal rights for all and deplored his meeting with racist governor of his home state Alabama, George Wallace. Cook considered Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy as his role models, mentioned QZ.
However, while the above does befit a commencement address to a passing out batch out to make a mark in their life, what has also come as a surprise to many is the way the CEO also used the opportunity as a marketing pitch for Apple devices, stated Time.
Cook reminded the students of the recycling program at Apple which he claimed to be the best in the world, something that he encouraged those not owning an iPhone to try out. Steve Jobs had famously stated to go thermo-nuclear against Android and its amply clear among the many things he inherited from his one-time mentor is the hatred for Android.