Sometimes life's going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith.

Steve Jobs used this line in a commencement address to encourage graduates to persist through setbacks. The remark is associated with his 2005 Stanford University Commencement Address, delivered after a period in which Jobs had experienced major reversals (notably being forced out of Apple in 1985) and later returning to lead its turnaround. In the speech’s first “story,” about connecting the dots and trusting one’s path, he frames adversity as inevitable and urges listeners to keep going by holding onto what they believe in—especially their work, purpose, or “love” for what they do.

The “brick” is a blunt metaphor for sudden, painful misfortune—failure, rejection, illness, or betrayal—that can feel random and undeserved. Jobs’s counsel, “Don’t lose faith,” is less about passive optimism than about maintaining an inner commitment that outlasts external shocks. In his larger argument, faith means trusting that present difficulties can later be integrated into a meaningful narrative (“connecting the dots”). The quote’s significance lies in its pragmatic resilience: it acknowledges hardship without romanticizing it, and it frames perseverance as a choice grounded in conviction rather than certainty.

Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.
Sometimes life can hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.