Steve Jobs' 100 Deep Thoughts - Cryptocurrency Exchange Platform

1. About Innovative Insights

2. Polaroid founder Edwin Land once said,

"Those who stand at the intersection of humanities and technology,

and take the best of both,

are the backbone of society."

He is my idol,

and I aspire to be such a person.

(“Steve Jobs” biography)

2. Technology alone is not enough,

it must be combined with humanities, arts, and human-centered design,

which is becoming increasingly important in the post-PC era.

(March 2011,

Steve Jobs’ speech at the iPad 2 launch event.)

3. The internet has no feelings,

it is just information.

Apple hopes to stand at the crossroads of technology and humanity,

bringing human elements into these technological tools.

(2001,

Steve Jobs’ interview with Japanese media.)

4. Greatness is brewing amidst chaos.

(“Steve Jobs” biography)

5. Great artworks do not need to follow trends,

they can lead trends themselves.

6. Picasso once said,

"Good artists copy,

great artists steal,"

and we are not ashamed to steal great ideas.

7. Using existing human experience and knowledge to invent and create,

is a remarkable thing.

8. Major revolutions benefit rebellious innovators,

if their ideas are correct,

they can dig for gold,

and contribute to the world.

(July 1991,

Steve Jobs’ thoughts on the personal computer industry,

at that time contemplating how to create products that reshape the industry.)

9. Innovation is like jumping into the air,

but you must ensure that when you land,

the ground is still there.

(“Becoming Steve Jobs”)

10. The biggest difference between followers and leaders is,

leaders love innovation.

11. Everyone makes mistakes when innovating.

Once you make a mistake,

don’t hesitate,

it’s best to admit it quickly,

and invest in improving your next innovation.

12. Creativity is connecting things.

13. If you ask creative people how they make things,

or how they accomplish something,

they might feel a bit guilty.

They haven’t truly “done” things,

they just “see” things,

and after a while, how to do it becomes obvious.

They can synthesize their experience with new ideas.

14. Innovation comes from chance encounters in hallways,

or thinking of a new idea at 10:30 pm and calling others,

or realizing there is a way to solve a problem that has always troubled us.

Innovation is when someone thinks they have come up with the coolest thing,

wants to know what others think,

and calls six people for an impromptu meeting.

15. When Apple developed the Mac,

IBM’s R&D expenditure was at least 100 times that of Apple,

so innovation is not about money.

What truly matters are your employees,

your leadership style, and how well you understand what you develop.

16. We must pay high respect to those who seem like madmen,

because their craziness and independence

create more things and truths we don’t know.

17. Focus and simplicity have always been my principles.

18. Simplicity is harder than complexity,

you must clear your mind as much as possible to achieve simplicity.

But ultimately, it’s worth it,

because once you achieve simplicity,

you can move mountains and fill seas.

(1998,

Steve Jobs’ interview with the media,

at that time, he was simplifying Apple,

reducing product lines to four.)

19. Focus is very difficult,

because focus means constantly saying “no.”

Deciding to do fewer things,

allows you to do them best.

20. Say “no” to a thousand things first,

to ensure we don’t go astray or waste too many attempts,

and to focus on what truly matters.

Second,

About Entrepreneurship Experience

21. When you’re young and have nothing to lose,

do something.

When young,

you have nothing to lose,

and no responsibilities to bear,

starting a company becomes much easier.

22. When we founded Apple,

there was absolutely nothing to lose.

I was 20,

Woz was about 24 or 25.

We had no families,

no children,

no houses.

Woz had an old car.

I had a Volkswagen van.

All we could lose were our cars and clothes.

But what we gained was earning,

and the experience gained was ten times better than the cost.

(1994,

Steve Jobs’ interview with Silicon Valley Historical Association,

sharing his entrepreneurial experience.)

23. Creating a new company is very difficult,

you must be full of passion,

without passion,

you will definitely give up.

24. People driven by money to start a company,

rarely succeed.

Successful people didn’t necessarily want to start a company at first.

They just had an idea,

wanted to realize it,

so they had to start a company,

otherwise no one would pay attention.

(2001,

Steve Jobs’ interview with Japanese media.)

25. My only purpose in creating a company is for the product,

the company is just a means.

(“Becoming Steve Jobs”)

26. Only by creating a strong company,

attracting talented people,

and cultivating the right corporate culture,

can great products be made.

(“Becoming Steve Jobs”)

27. We are deeply influenced by HP.

HP has the “HP Way,”

which is their recognized value.

The first is that we need to be profitable,

otherwise the company cannot continue.

28. We made the Apple I,

sold about 200 units.

The most important thing about this product was what we learned.

We did half right,

but gained experience,

figured out how to make the next big leap,

which was the real reason for the huge success of the Apple II.

29. The reason most people lack life experience is,

they never seek help.

When I seek help from others,

I find that no one refuses to help me.

30. When I was twelve,

I called Bill Hewlett, co-founder of HP.

Back then, there were no hidden numbers in the phone book,

I looked up his name.

When Bill Hewlett answered,

I said,

"Hi,

I’m Steve Jobs,

you don’t know me,

I’m twelve years old,

and I am making a frequency counter,

I need some parts."

He talked to me for twenty minutes,

not only giving me parts,

but also offering me a job.

That summer,

at twelve years old, I worked at HP,

which had a huge impact on me.

HP was the only company I had seen at that age,

shaping my concept of a company.

31. Most people never ask,

which distinguishes action-takers from dreamers.

You need to act,

be willing to accept failure.

Whether starting a company or other endeavors,

you must be willing to face rejection on the phone.

If you’re afraid of failure,

you won’t go far.

32. In the mainframe era,

in the world of centralized computing,

personal computers represent individuals,

individual freedom,

so Apple’s design and development are lightweight personal computing,

distinguishing it from the impersonal mainframes.

33. The culture of startup risk is closely related to role models.

Starting with HP,

role models for engineers,

marketers, and even some failed examples.

Some failure cases are as widely discussed as successful business stories.

Even if they fail,

people admire their willingness to try.

They can get up,

brush off the dust,

and look for the next job.

Maybe they don’t own the company,

and won’t be the founder of the next one,

but they have a good job.

They will never be impoverished.

34. The problem with the internet startup boom is not too many people starting companies,

but too many giving up.

This is understandable.

When you have to sell your company,

you must lay off people,

cancel projects,

and face very difficult situations,

times full of despair and pain.

At such moments,

you discover who you are,

what your value is.

Even if those who sell their companies become very rich,

they are actually deceiving themselves away from a life worth paying for.

Without this experience,

they may never know their true value,

or how to properly face newfound wealth.

(2000,

Steve Jobs’ interview with the media.)

Third,

About Product Design

35. Where does my intuition about products come from? It can be attributed to taste.

The key is to expose yourself to the essence of humanity,

and strive to incorporate it into what you do.

36. In most people’s dictionaries,

design is defined as appearance.

This perception is worlds apart from the essence of design.

Design is the soul of all man-made products,

ultimately expressed through layers of appearance.

(1997,

Steve Jobs’ interview after returning to Apple.)

37. Finding answers,

is the key to a good product,

not management processes.

38. True magic is,

using five thousand ideas to craft a product.

39. (1985) After I left Apple,

the most damaging thing was Scott (who succeeded Jobs as Apple CEO) making a serious mistake: he believed that as long as there was a great idea,

most of the work was done; just tell others,

here’s a good idea,

and they will go back to the office,

and make it happen.

But the problem is,

good ideas need a lot of processing to become good products.

40. To design something well,

you must understand it,

truly know what it is.

You need to invest sustained passion to understand it thoroughly,

chew and savor it repeatedly,

not just swallow it whole.

But,

most people are unwilling to spend time doing this.

41. Our entire company’s operation,

product design,

advertising, and marketing philosophies can be summarized in one phrase: pursuit of extreme simplicity.

(1983,

Steve Jobs’ speech at the International Design Conference.)

42. In real life,

everyone naturally knows how to use a desktop.

The reason we use the “desktop” concept in computer design,

is because it leverages this familiar life experience.

43. Great artworks break the boundaries of taste,

elevate taste to new heights,

rather than blindly following current trends.

44. No market research could have predicted the appearance of Macintosh.

(1990,

Steve Jobs’ interview as CEO of NeXT.)

45. People don’t know what they want,

until you show it to them.

That’s why I never rely on market research.

Our task is to insight into what hasn’t yet been written on paper.

46. The customers for our products are ourselves,

we create what we want to have.

We want a computer,

we understand exactly what kind of computer we want,

so we develop and market it.

47. It must start from the consumer experience,

then go back to technology for development—never the other way around.

48. I have little interest in producing standardized personal computers,

millions of people helplessly using second-rate computers,

when the quality of computers should be much higher.

(July 1991,

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates’ first joint media interview.

Jobs criticized Gates’ standardization approach.)

49. Currently (1991),

the personal computer industry is mainly making incremental improvements on existing products,

enhancing performance.

But I believe,

for the industry to stay healthy,

big moves and major revolutions are needed.

(July 1991,

Steve Jobs’ thoughts on the personal computer industry,

at that time contemplating how to create products that could reshape the industry.)

50. Our products are not overpriced,

because we don’t sell inferior products with only basic functions.

If you remove these basic functions,

and compare Apple computers with other brands,

I think Apple computers are more worth it.

(2007,

Steve Jobs on Apple’s premium pricing.)

51. Apple’s requirement for products is: they must be so good that I would not hesitate to recommend them to family and friends.

Fourth,

On Success and Failure in Business

【NeXT’s setbacks】In 1985,

Steve Jobs left Apple.

Later,

he founded a new computer company, NeXT,

but it struggled,

and fell into a trough in 1992.

Jobs began to think about transformation,

and in 1993 cut hardware business,

focusing instead on software development.

52. Unsuccessful companies spend most of their funds on management efficiency,

successful companies spend most on operational efficiency.

(1992,

Steve Jobs’ talk at a university as CEO of NeXT.)

53. For the first time in my career,

I realized that

a product is like a wild horse,

breaking free from the path demanded by consumers.

The launch of Apple III was delayed by eight months,

it involved many unnecessary designs,

and cost much more than expected.

If we had launched Apple III on time,

as an upgrade to Apple II,

making it more suitable for enterprise needs,

things might have been very different.

But reality has no “if.”

I pulled the best people from the Apple III team,

to study how to turn the technology I saw at Xerox into reality,

which was one of the reasons for Apple III’s failure.

(July 1991,

Jobs, who had left Apple, openly admitted his mistakes there.)

54. I learned to see people with a longer-term perspective.

When I see someone mess up,

my first thought is not to solve the problem,

but to realize that

my team is meant to do great things in the next ten years,

not just to achieve results next year.

What I need to do is,

help those who make mistakes learn lessons,

not just solve problems for them.

This was perhaps my biggest change after leaving Apple.

(1992,

Steve Jobs’ reflection on lessons learned at Apple, as CEO of NeXT.)

55. Computers are the “bicycle” of the human brain,

a tool for us to transcend ourselves.

As a newly emerging tool,

computers are still immature,

but they have already shown enormous potential,

and will trigger unprecedented changes in the next hundred years.

(1990,

Steve Jobs’ view on the future of computers as CEO of NeXT.)

56. Many turn their successful experiences into systems.

But soon,

they become confused,

why do systems themselves become the answer? This is why IBM failed.

IBM had the best system managers,

but they forgot that the purpose of designing processes is to find the best answers.

Many manage processes,

but don’t know how to find answers.

(1995,

Steve Jobs’ interview as CEO of NeXT.)

57. The best talents can find the best answers,

but they are the hardest to manage,

you have to tolerate them.

58. History has proven,

being fired from Apple was the best thing that ever happened to me.

The burden of success disappeared,

replaced by the ease and relief of an entrepreneur,

various uncertainties made me free again,

entering the most creative phase of my life.

【Pixar’s success】In 1986,

the second year after leaving Apple,

Steve bought the Lucasfilm computer graphics division,

which is now Pixar.

The management experience Steve learned at Pixar,

enabled him to manage Apple more efficiently after returning in 1997.

Without this entrepreneurial experience at Pixar,

there would be no second glory for Apple.

59. Buying Pixar was to enter the 3D industry,

which, like the personal computer industry in 1978, has endless potential.

(1986,

Steve’s interview on why he bought Pixar.)

60. My business model is like The Beatles,

four talented people balancing each other,

their sum is greater than the parts.

Great business achievements are not done by one person,

but by a team working together.

(2003,

Steve Jobs’ interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes”.)

61. Free from other distractions,

focus on animation.

That’s why I bought Pixar in the first place,

and that’s what you are striving for.

Although this strategy is risky,

the rewards are higher,

and it allows us to follow our hearts.

(1991,

Steve Jobs invested $50 million in Pixar,

but it was still poorly managed and unprofitable.

He started cost-cutting,

sold the hardware division,

and focused only on software and animation,

laying off two-thirds of the staff.)

62. The key is not how fast you do it,

but how well you do it.

(At Pixar), every film has problems,

but they are willing to scrap and redo until satisfied.

They are not bound by release dates.

63. How long does an Apple computer last? Three years? At most five.

But,

if your movie is good enough,

it can be immortalized.

(End of 1994,

Pixar’s collaboration with Disney on the animated film “Toy Story” was about to be released,

and Steve planned to take Pixar public,

but the Pixar team’s co-founders disagreed.)

64. Now Pixar is just a yacht.

But through mergers,

we have boarded a huge ocean liner,

capable of withstanding storms and harsh weather.

(October 2005,

Steve planned to sell Pixar to Disney,

a year after their collaboration had ended.)

【Reviving Apple】In December 1996,

Apple acquired NeXT to obtain the NeXTSTEP operating system,

and Steve returned to Apple,

becoming interim CEO in 1997.

The personal computer industry was in a golden period of rapid growth,

but Apple slipped from a “leader” to a “marginal player,”

losing up to $800 million,

facing bankruptcy.

After Steve became CEO,

Apple turned losses into profits,

achieving $309 million profit in the entire fiscal year of 1998.

65. Cutting means shutting down,

canceling,

stopping,

the cost doesn’t matter.

(1996,

Steve Jobs’ return to Apple as interim CEO,

implementing a radical downsizing strategy.)

66. What Apple needs most are great products,

not necessarily new technologies.

I think many people don’t understand how to create great products.

(July 1997,

Steve Jobs’ return to Apple,

discussing the biggest problem Apple faced.)

67. Apple’s core value is not just making computers,

but believing that passionate people can change the world.

68. Apple has many talented people,

they have been told they are failures for years,

some even almost believe it.

But they are not failures.

What they lack is a good coaching team,

a good plan,

a good senior management.

But now they have it.

(July 1997,

Steve Jobs’ return as CEO,

discussing how he revitalized Apple.)

69. For Apple to win,

Microsoft must lose,

which is a very foolish attitude.

Without Microsoft’s failure,

Apple can still win,

and I firmly believe that.

70. Apple has huge advantages,

no need to focus on the “life-and-death” fight with Microsoft,

but to focus on customers.

(June 1997,

Steve Jobs at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference on the relationship with Microsoft.)

Fifth,

On Team Management

71. Most of my success comes from finding truly talented people,

not B or C players,

but real A players.

72. Excellent people crave working with the best,

and even hope those people are more talented than they are.

In my view,

if you work with people less capable than you,

it’s like living in a dwarf world.

(October 1997,

Steve Jobs’ interview after returning to Apple.)

73. For me,

hiring is the most important.

(1985,

Steve Jobs’ interview as Apple CEO.)

74. Gathering a group of talented partners,

letting them clash,

argue,

even fight,

creates noise,

but during the process,

they make each other better,

and ideas better,

ultimately producing beautiful stones.

(1995,

Steve Jobs’ interview as CEO of NeXT and Pixar,

at a low point in his career.)

75. Working with truly talented and confident people,

you don’t need to carefully protect their self-esteem.

The most important thing you can do for them is,

tell them where they are lacking,

and do so very clearly,

explain why,

and then get them back on track.

76. Hired employees must be better than you in some aspects,

and they must know,

that when you make mistakes,

they must honestly tell you.

The executive teams at Apple and Pixar often argue,

and every Pixar employee openly shares their views,

the same is true at Apple.

77. The best people are good at self-management,

no need for someone to manage them.

Once they know what to do,

they naturally understand how to do it.

(1985,

Steve Jobs’ interview as Apple CEO.)

78. The best people need a shared vision,

which is true leadership.

79. Leadership is about creating a vision,

clearly articulating the issues,

making everyone understand,

and reaching consensus around that vision.

Sixth,

On Life Experience

80. When you grow up,

you are told the world is like that,

your life is to live in this world,

don’t try to break down walls,

try to have a good family life,

be happy,

and save some money.

That is a very limited life.

Your life becomes infinitely broader after discovering this simple fact,

namely: your so-called life,

is built by those who are not as smart as you.

You can change it,

you can influence it.

81. Your time is limited,

don’t waste it living someone else’s life.

82. Don’t be bound by dogma,

which means living according to others’ thinking.

83. Don’t let others’ noisy opinions drown out your true inner voice.

Be brave to follow your heart and intuition,

they already know what you want to become,

everything else is secondary.

84. Get rid of the mistaken idea that "life is just there,

and you just live in it,"

and instead embrace it,

change it,

enhance it,

leave your mark.

85. The only thing you truly own is time.

If you invest your time in things that enrich your life experience,

you will never lose.

86. There is a saying in Buddhism: beginner’s mind.

Having a beginner’s mind is a wonderful thing.

87. If you want to make a mark in a field,

you must fully participate in a project,

see your ideas come to life,

step by step,

deepening at different stages.

Even if sometimes you get hurt by mistakes,

you can get up again and again,

dust yourself off and move forward.

Otherwise,

we only learn superficial things.

(1992,

Steve Jobs’ talk at MIT as CEO of NeXT.)

88. Making mistakes does not mean error.

Successful people make mistakes,

and correct them.

They treat mistakes as warnings,

not as irredeemable failures.

Never making mistakes means never truly living.

89. The most important decision in life,

is not what you want to do,

but what you cannot do.

90. If you want to create something new,

you must be full of passion,

because it is really hard.

91. When looking to the future,

you cannot foresee how these pieces will connect,

only in retrospect will you understand the links.

So you must believe that these dots will connect in the future in some way.

92. You must believe in certain things,

like courage,

fate,

life,

causality, and so on.

Only by believing that the dots in life will connect in the future,

can you have the courage to follow your heart,

even if it leads you away from the familiar path.

This will make you stand out.

93. The only motivation that drives me forward is,

I love everything I do.

You must find what you love.

Love your partner as well,

and your work too.

94. Work will take up a large part of your life,

only by believing that your work is great,

can you be at ease,

and the only standard for whether work is meaningful is love.

95. If you haven’t found what you love to do,

keep searching.

Don’t stop,

search with all your heart and soul.

When you find what you love,

you will feel it,

just like any beautiful thing,

it becomes more beautiful over time.

So,

keep searching,

don’t give up.

96. Every morning I ask myself in front of the mirror: "If today were my last day,

would I do what I want to do?" If for a long time,

the answer is no,

then I know I need to change something.

97. “Remember you are going to die,”

is the most important advice I’ve ever heard,

it helped me make major life decisions.

Facing death,

almost everything—external expectations,

pride,

fear of embarrassment or failure,

will vanish,

leaving only what truly matters.

98. Death is the best invention of life,

a catalyst for transformation.

It takes away the old,

and paves the way for the new.

99. I am very optimistic about individuals.

As individuals,

our nature is good.

I believe,

people are noble,

respectable,

and some are truly smart.

My view of teams is more pessimistic.

When I see what is happening in our country—one of the luckiest in many ways in the world—

I have always been very worried.

We seem uninterested in building a better future for our descendants.

(1996,

Steve Jobs’ interview with the media.)

100. For me,

being the richest person in the graveyard is meaningless.

The most important thing is,

before sleeping at night, I can tell myself: I did something great today.

(1993,

Steve Jobs’ interview with the media.)