Top 5 Inspirational Things to Learn From Steve Jobs

Celebrity June 14, 2015

This post was last updated on May 30th, 2024

Steve Jobs, the creator of Apple and NeXT faced many ups and downs in his life. Even after death, his story keeps on inspiring many aspirants to succeed and move ahead in their career.

Legends are born, they say. But Steve Jobs is one such legend who created a legacy behind himself with sheer determination and commitment towards his ambitions and dreams. A man, who even after leaving this world never fails to inspire the youngsters to make a better world for themselves even in unfavorable conditions.

Some Facts about Steve Jobs

Born out of wedlock, Steve was not a child his biological parents wanted.
Both graduate students, his parents wanted a girl instead of a boy and hence they gave up Steve for adoption.
His foster father was a car mechanic and fixed automobiles for a living. Steve dropped out of Reed College in the first semester.
It means his highest educational qualification was high school.
While at the college, he used to sleep on the floor, ate the free weekly meals at the local ‘Hare Krishna Temple’ and sold the empty coke bottle for food money.
He was fired from the company he created in 1985, was publicly humiliated due to his struggle with the board of directors of Apple and later on came back as CEO of the same company after his new venture NeXT was taken over by Apple.
Diagnosed with a rare kind of cancer-pancreatic cancer in 2003, he struggled for eight long years finally succumbing to it.

This is all about the life of Steve Jobs in a nutshell. What does it say? It displays a life full of struggle and hardship. It reveals the steel strength of a man who defied the depressing conditions and emerged a winner. The biopic shows how the ‘Never say die’ attitude of the founder of Apple was instrumental in creating a revolution in the IT and technology world.

Indeed, there is a lot to learn from Steve Jobs. Let us peek into his achievements, his way of working, his intention behind the decisions and launch of new products and more to know and learn much more from the life of a legend known as Steve Jobs.

1. Learning is not Restricted to Classrooms

The easiest way to learn lessons of life is by treading on the path walked by the successful people. However, the recent movie ‘Jobs’, that unveils the important aspects of Steve Job’s life contradicts this perception. According to the director of the movie, Joshua Michael Stern, Steve Jobs believed that life is a bigger teacher and although higher education has a value, it comes without any experience, which can be a major hurdle on the path to success.

Jobs believed that experiences in life are critical in making you more creative and that these understandings could be used as subtext when you are doing something different so that the outcome is more original and creative. Thus, one of the most important lessons of life you can learn from Steve Jobs is that you need to have vast and wider experiences of life to make creativity flourish and grow.

2. Never Be Afraid to Challenge

Steve Jobs was a challenger. He was never afraid to take up any cause even if it did not show much potential. Jobs always had his perspective for looking at things. He believed in himself and the ability of his co-workers and hence always encouraged them to move beyond the obvious goals.

At times, he became stern and uncompromising to get the desired deliveries from his people. His strict discipline played a key role in reviving the almost dead and listless Macintosh project. Jobs teach us to challenge the people who are not performing despite their high stature and to set things right going against all the odds.

3. Expand Your Imaginations, Dream Big

Microsoft was the only King in the personal computer market before the rise of Apple. Before the introduction of iPod, mp3 players did not have any other identification and prior to iTunes, no one thought that anyone would be paying for listening to music online. It was the time when the music piracy was at the peak.

All the then existing products such as Nokia, laptops and PCs were considered to be the latest and the best and no one thought that any change in it was possible. However, Jobs broke the status quo and with the launch of Apple each time new and exceedingly unpredictable products came into the market. From music distribution, mp3 players to personal computing, mobile phones and tablet computers, suddenly new products were introduced and even new demands were formed.

Soon the iPod became an integral part of the lifestyle and became the main reason causing the collapse of CD sales with the mp3 players becoming outdated. All these and more changes happened only because Jobs had the heart to think big, expand his imagination and believe that everything that you imagine or dream is possible, can be achieved. So, if the one thing you should never forget when you remember Steve Jobs, is that believe in your wildest dreams, and do everything to make it real.

4. Do the Tough Work

Jobs always challenged the working methods of his seniors and associates and many times had to bear the grunt of his teammates. His biopic Jobs says that for carrying out particular work, he made around 200 hundred phone calls. Look at the determination this man had! It shows how dedicated and determined Jobs was, to take up even grunt work and menial tasks to move ahead in his life.

5. Never Settle for Less

The life of Steve Jobs reveals lots of hardships, most of which was brought on by himself because he decided not to settle for less. He always made it a point to say what he believed in and stood by it irrespective of whether he became successful or not. It is very much important to know what exactly you want and to make others see it from your perspective. It applies to both your personal as well as professional life, whether you are going on a first date or applying for your dream job. Never undersell yourself, neither exaggerate your abilities, just be practical about your worth and only settle when you are offered what you think you deserve.

Certainly, you can learn many things from Steve Jobs and going through his biopic frequently will ensure that you keep on getting the zest and inspiration to make your dreams real.

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