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OWNER'S MANUAL 7 Inspiring Steve Jobs Quotes That Just Might Change Your Life Steve Jobs didn't just leave a legacy of great products. He also shared ideas that continue to inspire and motivate. jeff_haden @ IMAGE: Getty Images He came, he saw, he conquered...and he left behind some words to live by: "I'm convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance." Everyone says they go the extra mile. Almost no one actually does. Most people who do BY JEFF HADEN

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3/24/2015 7 Inspiring Steve Jobs Quotes That Just Might Change Your Life

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OWNER'S MANUAL

7 Inspiring Steve Jobs Quotes That Just MightChange Your Life

Steve Jobs didn't just leave a legacy of great products. He also shared ideas that

continue to inspire and motivate.

jeff_haden @

IMAGE: Getty Images

He came, he saw, he conquered...and he left behind some words to live by:

"I'm convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs fromthe non-successful ones is pure perseverance."

Everyone says they go the extra mile. Almost no one actually does. Most people who do

BY JEFF HADEN

3/24/2015 7 Inspiring Steve Jobs Quotes That Just Might Change Your Life

http://www.inc.com/jeff­haden/7­inspirational­steve­jobs­quotes­that­will­change­your­life.html 2/9

go there think, "Wait...no one else is here...why am I doing this?" And they leave, neverto return.

That's why the extra mile is such a lonely place.

That's also why the extra mile is a place filled with opportunities.

Be early. Stay late. Make the extra phone call. Send the extra email. Do the extraresearch. Help a customer unload or unpack a shipment.

Don't wait to be asked--offer. Don't just tell employees what to do--show them what todo, and work beside them.

Every time you do something, think of one extra thing you can do...especially if otherpeople aren't doing that extra thing.

Sure, it's hard. But that's what will make you different.

And over time, that's what will make you incredibly successful.

"My favorite things in life don't cost any money. It's really clear that the mostprecious resource we all have is time."

Deadlines and time frames establish parameters, but usually not in a good way. Mostpeople given two weeks to complete a task will instinctively adjust their effort so itactually takes two weeks--even if it shouldn't.

So forget deadlines, at least as a way to manage your activity. Tasks should only take aslong as they need to take. Do everything as quickly and effectively as you can. Then, useyour "free" time to get other things done just as quickly and effectively.

Average people allow time to impose its will on them; exceptional people impose theirwill on their time.

"My model for business is The Beatles. They were four guys who kept each other'skind of negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other, and the total wasgreater than the sum of the parts. That's how I see business: Great things inbusiness are never done by one person, they're done by a team of people."

Some of your employees drive you nuts. Some of your customers are obnoxious. Someof your friends are selfish, all-about-me jerks.

Stop whining. You chose them.

If the people around you make you unhappy, it's not their fault. It's your fault. They're in

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your professional or personal life because you drew them to you--and you let themremain.

Think about the type of people you want to work with. Think about the types ofcustomers you would enjoy serving. Think about the friends you want to have.

Then change what you do so you can start attracting those people. Hardworking peoplewant to work with hardworking people. Kind people like to associate with kind people.

Exceptional employees want to work for exceptional bosses.

Be the best you can be, and work to surround yourself with people who are even better.

"Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit themquickly, and get on with improving your other innovations."

Ask most people why they have been successful. Their answers will be filled withpersonal pronouns like "I" and "me." Only occasionally will you hear "we."

Then ask them why they failed. Most will revert to childhood and instinctively distancethemselves, like a kid who says, "My toy got broken..." instead of, "I broke my toy."They'll say the economy tanked. They'll say the market wasn't ready. They'll say theirsuppliers couldn't keep up.

They'll say it was someone or something else.

And by distancing themselves, they don't learn from their failures.

Occasionally, something completely outside our control will cause us to fail. Most of thetime, though, it's us. And that's OK. Every successful person has failed. Numerous times.Most of them have failed a lot more often than we have. That's why they're successfulnow.

Embrace every failure. Own it, learn from it, and take full responsibility for making surethat next time, things will turn out differently.

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be trulysatisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great workis to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. Aswith all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it."

Don't know what you're passionate about? No problem. Pick something interesting.Pick something financially viable--something people will pay you to do or provide.

Then work hard. Improve your skills, whether at managing, selling, creating,

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implementing...whatever expertise your business requires. The satisfaction andfulfillment of small victories will give you the motivation to keep working hard. Smallvictories will motivate you to further develop your skills.

The satisfaction of achieving one level of success will spur you on to gain the skills toreach the next level, and the next, and the next.

And one day, you will wake up feeling incredibly fulfilled--because you're doing greatwork, work you've grown to love.

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."

Ideas without action aren't ideas.

They're regrets.

Every day, most people let hesitation and uncertainty stop them from acting on an idea.(Fear of the unknown and fear of failure are often what stop me, and they may be whatstop you, too.)

Think about a few of the ideas you've had, whether for a new business, a new career, oreven just a part-time job.

In retrospect, how many of your ideas could have turned out well, especially if you hadgiven it your absolute best? Would a decent percentage have turned out well?

My guess is, probably so--so start trusting your analysis, your judgment, and even yourinstincts a little more.

You certainly won't get it right all the time, but if you do nothing and allow your ideas tobecome regrets...you will always get it wrong.

"Bottom line is, I didn't return to Apple to make a fortune. I've been very lucky inmy life and already have one. When I was 25, my net worth was $100 million or so. Idecided then that I wasn't going to let it ruin my life. There's no way you could everspend it all, and I don't view wealth as something that validates my intelligence."

Money is important. Money does a lot of things. (One of the most important is to createchoices.)

But after a certain point, money doesn't make people happier. After about $75,000 ayear, money doesn't buy more (or less) happiness. "Beyond $75,000...higher income isneither the road to experience happiness nor the road to relief of unhappiness orstress," says a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

3/24/2015 7 Inspiring Steve Jobs Quotes That Just Might Change Your Life

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And if you don't buy that, here's another take: "The materialistic drive and satisfactionwith life are negatively related." (In layman's terms, "Chasing possessions tends to makeyou less happy.")

Think of it as the bigger house syndrome. You want a bigger house. You need a biggerhouse. (Not really, but it sure feels like you do.) So you buy it. Life is good...until a couplemonths later, when your bigger house is now just your house.

New always becomes the new normal.

That's because "things" only provide momentary bursts of happiness. To be happier,don't chase as many things. Chase experiences.

Someday you won't remember what you had...but you'll never forget what you did.

More:

75 Inspiring Quotes About Success

40 Inspiring Quotes About Gratitude

75 Inspiring Quotes You Need to Read About Leadership

75 Inspiring Quotes for Being Happier

50 Inspiring Quotes to Increase Your Confidence

PUBLISHED ON: MAR 19, 2015

ICONS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

7 Intriguing Books About Steve Jobs

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7 Intriguing Books About Steve JobsThese seven volumes provide unusual and sometimes iconoclastic views of the world's

most famous entrepreneur icon.

Sales_Source @

IMAGE: Getty Images

Tomorrow, a new biography Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstartinto a Visionary Leader hits the bookstores. It joins a long list of books about Jobs, mostof which tell pretty much the same story. However, here are 7 books that provideiconoclastic perspectives into the life of the world's most-written-about entrepreneur:

1. The Bite in the Apple (2013)

Subtitle: A Memoir of My Life with Steve Jobs

Author: Chrisann Brennan

Why It's Intriguing: Written by the mother of Jobs's first child, this book documents howJobs changed over the years, going from a self-absorbed boyfriend to a cheapskatepaternity-denier to a reluctant father. It's hard not to feel more than a little

BY GEOFFREY JAMES

3/24/2015 7 Inspiring Steve Jobs Quotes That Just Might Change Your Life

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disappointed with Jobs's character when he's seen from this perspective.

Best Quote: "He had beautiful, quiet, intelligent hands, with long elegant fingers. Whenhe was typing, the machine would pound out individual letters with such shocking forceand velocity that it belied the casual touch of his fingertips. Steve's hands were made fortechnology. There was a sublime compatibility with the machine in them, natural andunaffected from the beginning."

2. The Zen of Steve Jobs (2012)

Authors: Caleb Melby and Forbes LLC

Illustrator: JESS3

Why It's Intriguing: This investigation of Jobs's meditation practice claims that hissuccess was largely due to the influence of the Buddhist teacher Kobun Chino Otogawarather than, say, product development done at Xerox Parc.

Sample Panels:

3. Odyssey: Pepsi to Apple (1988)

Subtitle: a Journey of Adventure, Ideas and the Future

Authors: John Sculley and John A. Byrne

Why It's Intriguing: While Sculley has since stated that he regrets firing Jobs, the maintakeaways for this book are 1) Jobs needed firing and 2) Sculley invented the Newton(aka "Knowledge Navigator). Some have argued that the Newton was the true prototypeto the iPod.

Best quote: "I had given Steve greater power than he had ever had and I had created amonster. There was nothing else to do: I had to remove Steve as general manager of theMacintosh division. It was a painful decision because I knew the cost was high."

4. Jony Ive (2013)

Subtitle: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products

Author: Leander Kahney

Why It's Intriguing: This book presents what's practically an alternative history of theinvention and conception of some of Apple's most famous products, minimizing thecontributions of Steve Jobs and maximizing the contributions of Apple's top designer.

3/24/2015 7 Inspiring Steve Jobs Quotes That Just Might Change Your Life

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Best Quote: "Jony in particular had always had a deep appreciation for the tactilenature of computing; he had put handles on several of his early machines specifically toencourage touching. But here was an opportunity to make the ultimate tactile device.No more keyboard, mouse, pen, or even a click wheel--the user would touch the actualinterface with his or her fingers. What could be more intimate?"

5. Steve Jobs & The NeXT Big Thing (1993)

Author: Randall Stross

Why It's Intriguing: This highly critical description of Jobs' work at NeXT essentiallysupported Sculley's view that Jobs was out-of-control and, for all intents and purposes,a has-been. The author has since revised the book and released in a Kindle Edition.

Best Quote: "Jobs's attempts to build a profitable rival to Apple had led him from onestrategy to another, from blunder to blunder, disaster to disaster. What makes the NeXTstory especially intriguing, however, is the gullibility of many other who lent money,careers, and prestige to Steve Jobs's quest."

6. Steve Jobs and Philosophy (2015)

Editor: Shawn E. Klein

Why It's Intriguing: This soon-to-be-published book contains reflections of 16contemporary philosophers on the life of Steve Jobs and the effect that he's had onmodern society.

Best Quote: "Jobs was an outstanding achiever and a complex man with serious faults.This book is neither demonization nor hagiography. It is not intended as indictment orapology. The chapters are thoughtful, mostly philosophical, examinations, fromdifferent points of view, of Steve Jobs's life and work, and their impact on our cultureand the way we live."

7. Steve Jobs: Artist Tribute

Subtitle: Collection of artworks & caricatures of Steve Jobs with a History of Products

Author: Mad Artist Publishing

Why It's Intriguing: If there was any question about the impact that Steve Jobs has hadon popular culture, this book will lay such concerns to rest. These illustrations, whichrange from the sentimental to the bizarre, in some ways explain the meaning SteveJobs's life better than any biography.

3/24/2015 7 Inspiring Steve Jobs Quotes That Just Might Change Your Life

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Sample Illustration:Artist: Joe Cummings

 

PUBLISHED ON: MAR 23, 2015

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