Sometimes life's going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did.
Interpretation
Life can be tough, but passion for what you do helps you persevere.
In this quote, Steve Jobs emphasizes the inevitability of challenges in life, comparing them to being struck by a brick. However, he underscores the importance of maintaining faith and resilience, particularly when driven by a deep love for one’s work. This passion can be a powerful motivator that enables individuals to overcome difficulties and continue pursuing their goals.
In practice
In a speech to inspire students, you might say, 'Remember Steve Jobs' words when facing challenges: don't lose faith.'
Design is the fundamental soul of a man-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service. The iMac is not just the color or translucence or the shape of the shell. The essence of the iMac is to be the finest possible consumer computer in which each element plays together.
It is piracy, not overt online music stores, which is our main competitor.
The people who are doing the work are the moving force behind the Macintosh. My job is to create a space for them, to clear out the rest of the organization and keep it at bay.
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.
Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it.
For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
If you've tried everything possible to get an outcome, and it just hasn't worked out as planned, stop trying so hard. Relax. Maybe the timing's not right. Maybe it wasn't in your best interests. Maybe while one door seems to be closing, another is opening.
We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future.
You were not born a winner, and you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself be.
I have found that people who have a passion or a strong will for what they want to achieve, and who do not allow others to smear or sully their inner pictures of what they want to manifest, always seem to get what they desire in their lives.
I was the second-best player in high school. I was the second pick in the draft. I've been second in the MVP voting three times. I came in second in the Finals. I'm tired of being second. I'm not going to settle for that. I'm done with it.
We can always redeem the man who aspires and strives.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.