Posted by Mike McCready | February 25th, 2015 | No responses
Tuesday would have been Steve Jobs’ 60th birthday. The late Apple co-founder was famous not only for the Macintosh computer, iPod and iPhone but also for his eloquent musings on everything from LSD to entrepreneurship. The tech mogul was known for his direct style of speaking and his charisma, especially on display in his keynote speeches at Apple events. They often ended with Jobs feigning forgetfulness, saying the phrase “And one more thing…” and then debuting a revolutionary new product.
Jobs died at age 56 on Oct. 5, 2011, after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. Before he lost consciousness, Jobs looked at his sister, children and wife and repeated the words “OH WOW” three times, according to his sister’s eulogy in the New York Times. She wrote Jobs’ last words in all capital letters.
He left a legacy of innovation and a treasure trove of memorable quotes. Read 10 of the best below, courtesy of Business Insider, Wikiquote and Goodreads:
“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Quality is much better than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.”
“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.”
“It’s better to be a pirate than to join the navy.”
“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.”
“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.”
“And one more thing…”
Mike McCready is an entrepreneur at the crossroads of music and technology. He pioneered the introduction of Hit Song Science into the music industry and followed up with Music Xray, the company he co-founded and serves as CEO. His companies have been the subject of case studies at Harvard Business School, IESE and he frequently guest speaks at many of the top business schools around the world. He helps the music industry identify high potential songs and talent and helps musicians get deals, get fans, & get better: http://musicxray.com