Steve Jobs, the amazing mind behind some of Apple’s most stunning innovations over the last few decades. He’s also authored some of the most amazing inspirational and motivational speeches in that period of time. Here, we’ve gathered the top 10 inspirational Steve Jobs quotes to remind you that no matter what happens, you can do anything that you put your mind to.
10 Inspirational Steve Jobs Quotes
“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.”
It’s hard to find that thing you love to do in a world that values the size of your pocketbook over the size of your smile. Take Steve Jobs’ advice in this, if in nothing else. When you get up, do you want to do what you’re going to do today for the rest of your life? If your answer is no, then change it!
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
– Steve Jobs
Innovation isn’t easy. It requires time, money, resources, support, and intellect, and not everyone has access to all of those things at the same time. The big difference between the innovator and the non-innovator is the willingness to do anything necessary to get all of those things together in one place. That’s what makes a leader.
“My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource that we all have is time.”
– Steve Jobs
There’s nothing more important in the world than time, because it’s a finite resource and we all have a limited quantity of it that cannot be replenished. Don’t focus so much on how much money you have or how much you can spend on something. Instead, spend your finite time doing the things you love, whether they cost money or not.
“Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works.”
– Steve Jobs
Creating a design for something, whether it’s an iPhone, a music player, or a car, is so much more than just putting down how it looks on paper. Design is everything from the internal workings to the outward appearance and everything in between. You can’t design something that will function the way you want it to simply by drawing what its outer shell will look like.
“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. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”
– Steve Jobs
People like their technology and their devices to be simple. You plug it in, and you’re ready to go. Getting simplicity from a complicated device like an iPhone or tablet is difficult because there are so many variables to consider and so many things that can potentially go wrong. Once you’ve found that balance between simplicity and complexity, you can do just about anything.
“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.”
– Steve Jobs
We all make mistakes; it’s an inevitable part of life. It’s a common part of life when you’re attempting to innovate or create something new. Don’t linger on the mistakes. Instead, find out what went wrong and how to fix it. If you don’t learn from your mistakes, you will just continue to repeat them. Learn from them and make something amazing.
“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 some tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.”
– Steve Jobs
We’ve made some amazing technological advances over the last few decades. We use things today that our parents never even dreamed of owning. When it comes right down to it though, technology is useless without people to manage and run it. People can make fantastic things when given the right tools and technology, but technology can do nothing on its own.
“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 n reason not to follow your heart. “
– Steve Jobs
Eventually, we’re all going to die. There is no escaping that fact. Once you can accept it, though, there is literally nothing that can stop you from following your heart and making your dreams a reality. We have limited time to spend in this life. Make the best of it by doing what you love and striving to change the world.
“Things don’t have to change the world to be important.”
– Steve Jobs
It’s easy to think that you’ve got to do something amazing, that you’ve got to change the world in order to be remembered. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Don’t try to change the world, because that is impossible. Instead, try to make a difference in one person’s life. That one kind act will cascade into thousands of kind acts, and by doing one thing; you have changed the world around you.
“Stay hungry, stay foolish.”
– Steve Jobs
This was the main idea behind Steve’s commencement speech in 2005. Stay hungry, and don’t let the world tell you that being hungry for things or people or ideas is a bad thing. And stay foolish, because a little bit of foolishness is infinitely better than a lot of seriousness. If you can’t be a little foolish sometimes, then why bother living?
Since his death in 2011, Steve’s legacy has lived in on the form of all of the amazing innovations that he left behind at Apple. Hopefully a few of these Steve Jobs quotes are just the thing you need to remind you to stay hungry, stay foolish, and strive to change the world.
If you’re looking for a bit more inspiration, take a look at our Bill Gates quotes or some inspirational quotes about life.
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