Looking for inspiring and thought-provoking Steve Jobs quotes about success, life, and entrepreneurship?
Who exactly was Steve Jobs?
There are many words to describe Steve Jobs: controversial, visionary, perfectionist, inventor, genius, and so on. The Apple Inc. brand and its innovative products helped most of us fall in love with Steve Jobs. I was drawn to him because of his never-say-die attitude.
In 1976, he and his friend Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple. In Jobs' parents' garage, they built their first computer, the Apple I. The Apple II followed, selling 2 million units worldwide and moving Steve Jobs to fame and fortune. As Apple expanded, Steve Jobs hired John Sculley, a more experienced CEO, to lead the company. Jobs was fired from his own company in 1985, after a long power struggle with Sculley. During this time, he founded a new company called NeXT as well as another called Pixar. Toy Story, the first computer-animated film, was created by Pixar. 12 years later, Apple purchased NeXT, and Jobs returned to the company as CEO. Under his renewed leadership, Apple would successfully develop and launch the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, launching various products at a multi-year pace in his famous keynotes and transforming his company into the world's most valuable company.
In 2003, Steve Jobs was diagnosed with a very rare form of pancreatic cancer. He spent the next few years battling the disease, undergoing several hospitalizations and work stoppages, and appearing increasingly thin. Despite this, he was able to personally introduce the iPhone and iPad keynotes. He died on October 5, 2011, at the age of 56, at his home in Palo Alto.
The Steve Jobs quotes below remind us of how inspiring he was and how he never shied away from taking big risks. He recovered from defeat after defeat to become even more successful than before. Despite the fact that many of his methods were unconventional, he knew how to inspire others to achieve the "impossible."
Here are 29 Steve Jobs quotes to inspire you to think differently, take risks, think big, and be passionate about what you do. These Steve Jobs quotes are from his famous Stanford University speech, Walter Isaacson's works, interviews, and the Think Different commercial.
Famous Steve Jobs Quotes
1. “It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” ~ Steve Jobs
2. “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” ~ Steve Jobs
3. “Don’t let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice.” ~ Steve Jobs
4. “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow know what you truly want to become.” ~ Steve Jobs
5. “The greatest thing is when you put your heart and soul into something over an extended period of time, and it is worth it.” ~ Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs Quotes on Life
6. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” ~ Steve Jobs
7. “Sometimes life is going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.” ~ Steve Jobs
8. “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
9. “I’ve always been attracted to the more revolutionary changes. I don’t know why. Because they’re harder. They’re much more stressful emotionally. And you usually go through a period where everybody tells you that you’ve completely failed.” ~ Steve Jobs
10. “My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.” ~ Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs Quotes on Work
11. “Creativity is just connecting things.” ~ Steve Jobs
12. “Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.” ~ Steve Jobs
13. “That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex; you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.” ~ Steve Jobs
14. “That’s been one of my mantras—focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex; you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.” ~ Steve Jobs
15. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” ~ Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs Quotes on Leadership
16. “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” ~ Steve Jobs
17. “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.” ~ Steve Jobs
18. “I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next.” ~ Steve Jobs
19. “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
20. “Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.” ~ Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs Motivational Quotes
21. “Getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.” ~ Steve Jobs
22. “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
23. “I'm convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” ~ Steve Jobs
24. “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.” ~ Steve Jobs
25. “My self-identity does not revolve around being a businessman, though I recognize that is what I do.” ~ Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs Quotes on Death
26. “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
27. “We don’t get a chance to do that many things and everyone 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
28. “When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and…to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.” ~ Steve Jobs
29. “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
Were these Steve Jobs quotes motivating to you?
It's easy to see why millions of people admire Steve Jobs. His drive for perfection aided him in becoming one of the greatest innovators of all time. His determination to accomplish the impossible fueled all who followed him and converted his doubters into believers.
When you're feeling discouraged by life's roller coaster, remember these quotes from Steve Jobs - his passion, and his willingness to take big risks despite others calling him crazy.
Which of these Steve Jobs quotes did you like best? Please let us know in the comments below.