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1. Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication
- Whether in product design (like the iPhone), communication, or decision-making, Jobs relentlessly sought elegant simplicity.
- He believed removing the unnecessary reveals the essential.
“Simple can be harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean.”
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548 reads
2. Obsess Over the User Experience
- Jobs focused intensely on how people feel when they use a product—not just what it does.
- Design and technology must serve human intuition, not complicate it.
“You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology.”
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427 reads
3. Think Different
- He challenged norms and encouraged others to see the world from a different angle.
- His life was a rejection of mediocrity, bureaucracy, and “business as usual.”
“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
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376 reads
4. Pursue Excellence, Not Consensus
- Jobs didn’t aim to please everyone—he aimed to create insanely great products.
- He held himself and his team to incredibly high standards and wasn’t afraid of being demanding.
“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”
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363 reads
5. Focus Relentlessly
- One of his greatest strengths was saying no to distractions, features, or ideas that diluted the vision.
- He believed focus equals clarity, and clarity leads to breakthroughs.
“I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.”
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326 reads
6. Merge Art with Technology
- Jobs saw Apple not as a tech company, but a place where engineering meets liberal arts.
- He brought emotion, storytelling, and design into the world of technology.
“Technology alone is not enough—it’s technology married with the humanities that makes our hearts sing.”
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304 reads
7. Follow Your Inner Voice
- From dropping out of college to launching Apple, getting fired, and returning—Jobs consistently trusted his intuition and curiosity.
- He believed in doing work that mattered personally—not just what was expected.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
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291 reads
8. Creativity is Connecting the Dots
- Jobs believed creativity isn’t about creating from scratch — it’s about seeing patterns others don’t.
- His experiences with calligraphy, design, and even Zen Buddhism shaped how he approached product design.
“Creativity is just connecting things.”
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288 reads
9. Trust the Process, Even When It Doesn’t Make Sense Yet
- Jobs emphasized that you can’t connect the dots looking forward—only looking backward.
- He encouraged following your curiosity and trusting it will make sense someday.
“You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”
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279 reads
10. Passion Fuels Persistence
- To build something great, you need to love what you do—because the process will get hard.
- Passion is what keeps you going when logic and motivation run out.
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
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254 reads
IDEAS CURATED BY
CURATOR'S NOTE
Steve Jobs had many principles guiding his work and life, but several core threads tie them all together. Here’s a breakdown of the common themes that run through Steve Jobs’ principles, drawn from his speeches, interviews, leadership style, and product philosophy:
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