After the announcement of the death of Steve Jobs this Wednesday, Apple’s lead visionary, the entire technology community and those who value its innovations mourned his passing. Jobs, who passed away from pancreatic cancer, was not only the lead visionary behind Apple’s remarkable brand, he was also an inspiration leader, sharing the secrets of his success to all who would listen.
Many who worked for him described him as “tough” and “unrelenting” yet those who benefit from his strict adherence to the development and implementation of his ideas are grateful for his personality and passion for his work.
Yes, he was an innovator, a strategist and an organizer but he was also a philosopher, well known for planting seeds of unique wisdom for future leaders.
I believe I am a future leader. I believe I have a significant contribution to make to this world yet I wrestle with doubt and confusion because I think so differently from most. People describe me as a “crazy genius” and many laugh at my efforts to teach women how to empower themselves through thought and freedom from the pressure to be great. I sometimes describe myself as crazy because I feel that way, never fitting in, always feeling like I’m the only one fighting the good fight for the benefit of others and trying to create ways to give what I have always wanted to receive.
“Why are you doing this?” I am asked frequently.
“I want to help women be better than me, to truly appreciate themselves in freedom,” I reply.
“You’re not Jesus,” they say.
“I know, I just feel like someone has to do it.”
Today I am grateful that I shared the same lifetime as Jobs and have benefited from his wisdom. These are just a few of my favorite words of wisdom from Steve Jobs.
Inspirational Quotes by Steve Jobs
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. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.
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 others’ 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.
Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.
My job is not to be easy on people. My jobs is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better.
I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.
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… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but 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 ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.
Thank you, Steve.
You made a difference.
Te-Erika
