Steve Jobs was a self-made billionaire who built his empire on a fierce dedication to elegance, creativity, and perfection. As much as these traits helped to define his tremendous success, they also made him unpopular with many of his associates.
As an infant, Jobs was given up for adoption by his impoverished biological parents in exchange for the promise that he would receive a college education – a deal that would perhaps one day come to symbolize his abandonment as he chose to walk away from it, giving his financially struggling adoptive parents freedom from their heavy obligation.
Jobs co-founded both Apple and Pixar in his relatively short lifetime and is largely credited with bringing about personal computing. More than just an innovator, Jobs had the unique ability to take concepts that were previously unsalable and turn them into wildly popular products. Like him or hate him, this brilliant man had a profound impact on the nature of computer technology and its demand throughout the world. From the first Apple computer, to the first iPod, iPad, and iPhone, Jobs faithfully and consistently influenced the world to share his love of computing.
Change the world
Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.
Steve Jobs
Be adaptive
For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Steve Jobs
Love what you do
Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful…that’s what matters to me.
Steve Jobs
Alter your reality
Everything around you that you call life was made up by people who were no smarter than you – you can change it, mold it, and influence it. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.
Steve Jobs
Be a leader – innovate
Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.
Steve Jobs
Follow your heart
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
Steve Jobs
Keep your focus
The hardest thing when you think about focusing. You think focusing is about saying “Yes.” No. Focusing is about saying “No.” And when you say “No,” you piss off people.
Steve Jobs
Live a life that’s worth it
We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So, it better be damn good. It better be worth it.
Steve Jobs
You have nothing to lose
Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
Steve Jobs
Think big
I want to put a ding in the universe.
Steve Jobs
Never lose faith
Sometimes life is going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.
Steve Jobs
Persevere
I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.
Steve Jobs
Trust in something
You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something—your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.
Steve Jobs
Believe in humanity
Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have a faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.
Steve Jobs
Don’t settle, pursue happiness
Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.
Steve Jobs
Be creative
In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. It’s interior decorating. It’s the fabric of the curtains of the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service.
Steve Jobs
