Top 40 Most Amazing Steve Jobs Quotes To Inspire You

Top 40 Most Amazing Steve Jobs Quotes To Inspire You

Last updated on December 27th, 2023 at 10:50 am

Steve Jobs 1955-2011“, by segagman, licensed under CC BY 2.0

Steve Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco, California. He was an American industrial designer, inventor, and entrepreneur who was the co-founder, chairman, and the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Apple Incorporation. Steve Job was also the chairman and the majority shareholder of Pixar; the CEO, chairman, and the founder of NeXT.  Steve Jobs was recognized as the charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution, including the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. 

Steve Jobs Quotes

“The products suck! There’s no sex in them anymore!”

On products at Apple, just before his return to it BusinessWeek (July 1997)

“We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas.”

Triumph of the Nerds (1996)

“That’s what makes great products. It’s not process-it’s content.”

Motivating Thoughts of Steve Jobs (ed. Prabhat Prakashan) – ISBN: 9789351869191
“Older people sit down and ask, “what is it?’ But the boy asks, ‘what can I do with it?’.”

“I would trade all of my technology for an afternoon with Socrates.”

As quoted in Newsweek (29 October 2001), “The Classroom Of The Future” – 2000-04

“The HD revolution is over, it happened. HD won. Everybody wants HD.”

Apple Special Event Keynote (1 September 2010)

“I end up not buying a lot of things, because I find them ridiculous.”

Motivating Thoughts of Steve Jobs (ed. Prabhat Prakashan) – ISBN: 9789351869191
“We used to dream about this stuff. Now we get to build it. It’s pretty great.”

“Our goal is to make the best devices in the world, not to be the biggest.”

Motivating Thoughts of Steve Jobs (ed. Prabhat Prakashan, 101) – ISBN: 9789351869191

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers…..”

Motivating Thoughts of Steve Jobs (ed. Prabhat Prakashan) – ISBN: 9789351869191

“I’ve always wanted to own and control the primary technology in everything we do.”

As quoted in “The Seed of Apple’s Innovation” in BusinessWeek (12 October 2004) – 2000-04
“The best innovation is sometimes the company, the way you organize the company.”

“I make 50 cents for showing up … and the other 50 cents is based on my performance.”

On his famous $1 annual salary, at the annual Apple shareholder meeting in 2007, as quoted in “Jobs: ‘I make fifty cents just for showing up'” in AppleInsider (10 May 2007) – 2005-09

“The axis today is not liberal and conservative, the axis is constructive-destructive.”

Motivating Thoughts of Steve Jobs (ed. Prabhat Prakashan) – ISBN: 9789351869191

“Unfortunately, people are not rebelling against Microsoft. They don’t know any better.”

Interview in Rolling Stone magazine, no. 684 (16 June 1994)
“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.”

“Computers themselves, and software yet to be developed, will revolutionize the way we learn.”

Motivating Thoughts of Steve Jobs (ed. Prabhat Prakashan, 101) – ISBN: 9789351869191

“We do not say anything about future products. We work on them in secret, then we announce them.”

Motivating Thoughts of Steve Jobs (ed. Prabhat Prakashan) – ISBN: 9789351869191

“Nobody has tried to swallow us since I’ve been here. I think they are afraid how we would taste.”

At the annual Apple shareholder meeting (22 April 1998)
“Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.”

“For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.”

Motivating Thoughts of Steve Jobs (ed. Prabhat Prakashan, 101) – ISBN: 9789351869191

“Everyone here has the sense that right now is one of those moments when we are influencing the future.”

Motivating Thoughts of Steve Jobs (ed. Prabhat Prakashan, 101) – ISBN: 9789351869191

“I think Pixar has the opportunity to be the next Disney — not replace Disney — but be the next Disney.”

As quoted in BusinessWeek (23 November 1998)
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life… Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

“And no, we don’t know where it will lead. We just know there’s something much bigger than any of us here.”

Motivating Thoughts of Steve Jobs (ed. Prabhat Prakashan, 101) – ISBN: 9789351869191

“You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology – not the other way around.”

May 1997, World Wide Developers Conference

“It’s kind of like being in the ocean. We’re on the bottom, so it doesn’t matter what the weather is like up top.”

Apple shareholder meeting, 27 April 2006
“I don’t think of my life as a career. I do stuff. That’s not a career- It’s a life!”

“The cure for Apple is not cost-cutting. The cure for Apple is to innovate its way out of its current predicament.”

As quoted in Apple Confidential 2.0: The Definitive History of the World’s Most Colorful Company (2004) by Owen W. Linzmayer – 2000-04

“I think death is the most wonderful invention of life. It purges the system of these old models that are obsolete.”

Motivating Thoughts of Steve Jobs (ed. Prabhat Prakashan) – ISBN: 9789351869191

“We think basically you watch television to turn your brain off, and you work on your computer when you want to turn your brain on.”

Interview in Macworld magazine (February 2004) – 2000-04
“Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?”

“My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.”

Motivating Thoughts of Steve Jobs (ed. Prabhat Prakashan, 101) – ISBN: 9789351869191

“If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.”

Motivating Thoughts of Steve Jobs (ed. Prabhat Prakashan) – ISBN: 9789351869191

“My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better.”

Motivating Thoughts of Steve Jobs (ed. Prabhat Prakashan) – ISBN: 9789351869191
“I think we’re having fun. I think our customers really like our products. And we’re always trying to do better.”

“You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.”

Interview with Inc. Magazine for its “The Entrepreneur of the Decade Award” (1 April 1989)

“Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works.”

Motivating Thoughts of Steve Jobs (ed. Prabhat Prakashan, 101) – ISBN: 9789351869191

“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.”

Quoted in Steve Jobs, the Journey Is the Reward (1988) by Jeffrey S. Young ISBN 155802378X
“I’m as proud of many of the things we haven’t done as the things we have done. Innovation is saying no to a thousand things.”

Nitesh Kuchhal, an IIM Calcutta graduate, is more than an educator—he's a mentor. With a passion for leadership and entrepreneurship, and travel. He has explored over 20 countries. Beyond teaching, he dives into psychology and discusses social issues. Though he is not a history expert, he enjoys learning about it through books, adding a historical touch to his many interests.

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