Steve Jobs, a self-made millionaire by the time he was 23, created Apple, Inc.
With its iconic logo of an apple with a bite, it went on to become one of the three top producers of personal computers in the United States, and possibly the biggest.
He was given for adoption when he was still an infant, eventually being adopted by a mechanic.
If there was anything he learned from his father, it’s paying attention to details. And that sets Apple apart from its competition.
From a very young age, Steve Jobs loved the power and intricacy of computers. He loves to tinker and work with his father, fixing cars.
He was born a genius and his teachers suggested he skip several grades.
But as he grew up, he realized he didn’t like formal education. He dropped out of college but still continued attending the classes he was interested such as calligraphy.
He partnered with Steve Wozniak and they developed the first-ever Apple machine. They worked hard and chased investors until they found one who agreed to fund them — Intel.
Intel wasn’t disappointed because it wasn’t long before Apple achieved remarkable success. At 24 years old, he was already worth $10 million and $100 million at 25.
Because of his age, he was considered one of the youngest people features on the Forbes richest list.
He suffered betrayal in the hands of John Sculley when Sculley urged the board to fire Jobs from Apple.
But he didn’t give up. He created his own company, later on merging with Apple when he returned as the interim CEO.
He didn’t stop there and invested in Pixar, which earned millions after the release of Toy Story movie.
His story is an example of applying dedication and passion to achieve what you want in life.
On his deathbed, his last words were “Oh, wow.”
With the legacy he left, we can say nothing but “Oh, wow.”
My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.”
“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”
“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.”
“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.”
“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. ”
“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.”
“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.”
“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
“We’re just enthusiastic about what we do.”
“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 others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”
“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”
“Things don’t have to change the world to be important.”
“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.”
“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.”
“My model for business is The Beatles: They were four guys that kept each others’ negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of the parts.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.”
