Apple, the world’s most valuable company, owes a huge part of its success to its cofounder and former CEO Steve Jobs. He's well known for his entrepreneurship, innovation, design, and commitment to pushing boundaries. His vision is summarized in Apple's advertising slogan, "Think different.*" During his journey he offered insights to his success — from sharing his dedication to creativity and quality, to inspiring us to live every day with passion and purpose.
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
“I’m as proud of many of the things we HAVEN’T done as the things we have done. Innovation is saying NO to a thousand things.”
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
"Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected."
“Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.”
“My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.”
“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.”
“We’re here to put a dent in the universe, otherwise, why even be here?”
Steve Jobs' quotes are thought-provoking and inspiring. And he certainly changed my life — starting with my first Mac computer, and even today, as I use my sleek Apple iPhone to: communicate with you; anticipate weather; organize calendar appointments; take photos; play music and games; do banking; shop; use the GPS; get the news; read books; list new ideas; research information; write this blog; and more. This next quote has the most impact for me:
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."
His dedication to making a difference, and his "counter culture" model encourages me to trust myself when society's expectations and my inclinations differ.
Steve Jobs' slogan for Apple was, “Think different.” He did.
It's our turn.
Sources: Walter Isaacson, Brainyquotes, iDropnews.
*I was curious about the choice of wording on this slogan. Instinctively I want to correct it to "Think differently." In his biography I learned: "Jobs insisted he wanted 'different' to be used as a noun, as in 'think victory' or 'think beauty.' And rather than sounding formal, he wanted to give the phrase a colloquial quality like 'think big.'"