October 10, 2011

Motivational Monday: Steve Jobs


As I am sure all of the people reading this blog are aware, last week the world lost a creative, innovative genius – Steve Jobs.  There is not much to say about Steve Jobs that has not already been said.  He contributed to the work through his world class products and unmatched enthusiasm for innovation.  Beyond being such a technology genius, Steve Jobs also was a great motivational speaker, whether he intended to be or not.  




In his memory, I am posting his words that I have found most motivational:

“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.”

“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. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About 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 people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

“Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. 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.”

“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.”

“It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it.”

“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”

“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. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path.”




It is quite possible that the only things that will surpass the caliber of Jobs’ innovations are his inspiring  words of wisdom.  Remembering and honoring a visionary takes gumption, but being one takes more.

No comments:

Post a Comment

09 10