Steve’s Lessons 

“Your time is limited,  so don't waste it living someone else's life.” 

From the day he was born on February 24, 1955, Steven Paul Jobs has been blazing his own path. As the CEO of Apple Computer and CEO and Chairman of Pixar, Jobs is today recognized as one of the top leaders and visionaries of both the computer and entertainment industries and is worth an estimated $4.4 billion. Steve Jobs, the mastermind behind Apple's iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes, has died on October 5,

2011, when he was 56 years old. 

Lesson #1: Connect The Dots Jobs believes that everything happens for a reason and although that reason may be hard to 

see at the time, sometimes you need to just sit back and have faith that things will work out in the end. Trusting your own decisions is often one of the most difficult but necessary and 

rewarding experiences.   

“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.” 

“I didn’t see it then,  but it turned out that 

getting fired from Apple was the best  

thing that could have  

ever happened to me.” 

“It freed me to enter one  of the most creative periods 

of my life.” Jobs went on to create NeXT and Pixar and

eventually returned to Apple

when it purchased NeXT.  

“It was awful tasting medicine, but  I guess the patient needed it.

Sometimes life hits you in the head

with a brick. Don’t lose faith.”  

Lesson #2: Don’t Settle Jobs knows how lucky he is to have discovered his passion in life at an early age. Jobs considers the passion

he has for his work one of the most important factors behind his immense success. Jobs is now living his dream life. He continues to work on a daily basis, to experiment and to innovate. He admits that the only

thing that keeps him coming to work every day is his passion. 

“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.” 

 “It gave a tremendous level of self- confidence, that through exploration 

and learning one could understand seemingly very complex things in  

one’s environment.” 

“The feelings and the  passion that people put 

into it were completely indistinguishable from 

a poet or a painter… 

People put a lot of love into these products.”  

“I was worth about over a million dollars when I was twenty-three and over ten million dollars when I was twenty-four, and over a hundred million dollars when 

I was twenty-five and it wasn't that important because I never did it for the money. 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.” 

Lesson #3: Seize The Day It has been Jobs’ willingness to seize new opportunities and take the road less traveled that has  

allowed him to rise above his competitors. This has helped Jobs not only become one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the 20th century, but has also let him live his dream life. He is both a  

workaholic and a devoted family man and never loses any opportunity to improve upon both.  

“Whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know 

I need to change something,”  

“If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most

certainly be right.”  

“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. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”  

 

Jobs learned the importance of  making the most of his time when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2004.  “My doctor advised me to go home  and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die.” 

When Jobs spoke at the summer convocation of Stanford University in 2005, “Remembering that I'll be dead

soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big

choices in life, because 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.” 

Lesson #4: Stay Ahead Of The Pack Steve has proven that he is a leader and not a follower. From the Macintosh, which introduced the first

graphical user interface that has since become standard, to the iPod, Jobs has demonstrated that he has the visionary ideas to keep him ahead of his competition. He has been willing to take risks and go in directions

that others have not realized are available until too late. 

“Innovation is the  distinction between a 

leader and a follower.” 

“When Apple came up with the Mac,  IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It's not about money.  It's about the people you have, how  

you're led, and how much you get it." 

“To turn really interesting ideas and  fledgling technologies into a company  

that can continue to innovate for years, 

it requires a lot of disciplines.”  

“The system is that there is no system, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have process.” Process, according to Jobs, makes for greater efficiency. But, in order to encourage

experimentation and innovation, Jobs tries to create an environment that nurtures a free-flow of ideas.  

“It comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We’re always thinking about new markets 

we could enter, but it’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the  things that are really important.” 

Lesson #5: Think In Broad Terms 

From his marketing campaigns to his leadership style to his partnerships, Jobs has continually demonstrated his superior knack for the business world. Jobs was a born leader with a vision that would not be overshadowed. From product to promotion, Jobs understood what it took  to be successful in the business world – creativity and an understanding of the bigger picture. 

“The broader one’s  understanding of the

human experience, the better  

designs we will have.” 

“A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse

experiences. They don’t have enough dots to connect, and

they end up with very linear

solutions, without  a broad perspective on the

problem.”  

“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.”  

"We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed 

away today. Steve's brilliance,  passion and energy were the  

source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our 

lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His  greatest love was for his wife,  Laurene, and his family. Our 

hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his 

extraordinary gifts."   

- Apple's board of directors. 

5/10/2011  

R.I.P. The Great Man! - Sompong Yusoontorn 

“I think we’re having fun. I think our customers  

really like our products. 

And we’re always trying 

to do better.”  

Steve Jobs 1955-2011