21 Life Lessons from Steve Jobs By: Nick Scheidies
#1 Skate to Where the Puck is Going to
Be In 2007, Steve Jobs said, “There’s an old Wayne Gretzky quote that I love. ‘I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.’ And we’ve always tried to do that at Apple. Since the very, very beginning. And we always will.” Steve’s ability to anticipate future trends helped Apple dominate now-burgeoning markets like digital music sales (through the iPod and iTunes Store).
#2 Accentuate the Positive
Steve started life out on the wrong foot. He was given up for adoption at birth. Tough break? Young Jobs didn’t think so: he was thankful for his loving adoptive parents — who happened to live in Palo Alto, California (which would eventually become Silicon Valley).
#3 Learn from Others In high school
Jobs attended lectures at a small computer technology company called Hewlett- Packard. Before turning 21, Steve had worked for both HP and Atari. He saw what these companies were doing and learned what he wanted to do differently with Apple.
#4 Start Early Because
Steve was still a sponge-brained teenager when he started working with computers, he learned quickly. It also helps that he started Apple in his early 20’s: when he was still full of energy, fresh ideas, and not yet restrained by a family or career.
#5 College is Important…
At its best, higher education challenges us to make connections and solve problems. Jobs credits a college calligraphy course for part of the Macintosh’s development: “If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts.”
#6 …But it’s Not Necessary Reed University was expensive and Jobs didn’t want to drain his parents’ savings. If Jobs hadn’t dropped out, he would have been a junior in 1975. He co- founded Apple Computer that year instead.
#7 Travel the World
The year before he founded Apple, Jobs journeyed to India. Travel has a way of broadening a person’s perspective and expanding their sense of what’s possible – good traits in an entrepreneur.
#8 Surround Yourself with Good People
Steve Jobs wasn’t a great computer engineer. Apple would have had no chance if Jobs was the only one building the computers. That’s why he recruited Steve Wozniak. Through the years, Jobs’ companies have blossomed thanks to the brilliant people he’s brought on board – like Apple CEO Tim Cook and Pixar CCO (Chief Creative Officer) John Lasseter.
#9 Expect Greatness
People tend to rise to expectations.
#10 Fake it Before You Make it
In Apple’s early days, Steve recognized that Palo Alto, California was the epicenter of innovative computer technology. Steve wanted his company to be associated with this place – but Apple was still headquartered out of a garage in nearby Los Altos. Jobs’ solution was to set up a PO Box in Palo Alto and hire a voice answering service. A potential client would get the impression that Apple was a big company in the heart of Silicon Valley – even though the truth was that it was still just two sweaty guys in a garage across town.
#11 Obstacles are meant to be Overcome
Jobs and Wozniak ran out of money while developing the first Apple computer. Instead of giving in, Jobs sold his van and Wozniak sold his graphing calculator. When there’s a will, there’s a way.
#12 Don’t Value Money
As CEO of Apple, Jobs earned $1 a year. Jobs wasn’t incentivized by his salary, but by his own unrelenting pursuit of excellence. (Then again, his expansive stock holdings may have been some incentive.)
#13 Value People
Jobs hired passionate people and cultivated exceptional company cultures at both Apple and Pixar – and their work speaks for itsel
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