Steve Jobs: Best Tips and Book Recommendations from Apple Founder
Steve Jobs was the co-founder of Apple, and he is considered to be one of the greatest business minds that the United States has produced. He was an innovator, an inventor, and a game-changer, and it’s thanks to Steve Jobs that we have MP3 players, smartphones, tablets, and other such devices. He wasn’t always the first to create these devices, but he made them more accessible and popular, and he changed the world in the process.
Unfortunately, Steve Jobs died when he was just 56. But the legacy that he has left on the world is huge. Not only is his company one of the biggest in the world, but Jobs has gone down in history as one of the men who dragged the developed world into a more advanced technological age.
Over the years, many books have been written about Steve Jobs and he has recommended a number of titles himself. In this guide, I’ll take a look at those books and will also list some of my personal favorite Steve Jobs quotes, giving you an insight into his genius.
The Best Steve Jobs Quotes
“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.”
“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.”
“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful…that’s what matters to me.”
“My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.”
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
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“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.”
Did Steve Jobs Publish Any Books?
Steve Jobs didn’t publish any books during his lifetime. There was an official, authorized biography written by Walter Isaacson, though, and if you want to learn more about the life of this innovative genius, it’s a good place to start. There was also a film based on the book featuring Michael Fassbender and directed by Danny Boyle.
It’s a great film, but if you really want to get into the meat of the story and learn about his life and mind, I recommend reading the book.
What Books Did Steve Jobs Recommend?
Although Jobs didn’t write any books, he was an avid reader and he made many recommendations over the years. Some of these books are works of fiction, including?High Fidelity?by Nick Hornby.?High Fidelity?is a fantastic novel that tells the story of a record shop owner and his friends. It was first published in 1995 and was later made into a classic film starring John Cusack and Jack Black.
He is also known to have been a fan of?On the Road?by Jack Kerouac,?Moby Dick?by Herman Melville,?King Lear?by William Shakespeare, and?1984?by George Orwell. These books are some of the most read and best-loved titles in American and English literature, so it’s not a surprise to see that they were included in his library.
Jobs was also a big fan of spiritualism and mindfulness and is known to have read?Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism?by Chogyam Trungpa,?Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind?by Shunryu Suzuki, and?The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment?by Thaddeus Golas.
One of the most interesting titles on his recommended list is?The Innovator’s Dilemma?by Clayton M. Christensen. Walter Isaacson mentioned that Jobs was a huge fan of the book, and it’s also a book that Jeff Bezos is known to have read.
Isaacson also noted that Jobs was a fan of Dylan Thomas, a Welsh poet who wrote classics such as?Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.
Last but not least, at Jobs’ memorial service, the book?Autobiography of a Yogi?by Paramahansa Yogananda was handed out in a small brown box. It is a book about self-realization that was first published in 1946 and is said to be one of his favorites.
Needless to say, Jobs didn’t read or recommend as many business books or self-help books as other entrepreneurs and founders. He found his wisdom and his ideas in other places. But he still read (quite a lot, it seems), and that should be the main takeaway.