In 1976, 21-year-old Steve Jobs and his friend Steve Wozniak started Apple Computer in Jobs’ garage. What followed was one of the most remarkable careers in the history of business. Over the next three decades, Jobs transformed Apple from a tiny startup into one of the world’s most valuable companies. He also changed the way we think about technology with groundbreaking products like the Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, and iPad.
Jobs was a notoriously demanding boss and perfectionist, but his passion and vision for Apple were unrivaled. He could be mercurial, but his charisma and showmanship were undeniable. Jobs was an original thinker who saw the potential of personal computers and the way we use them in our everyday lives.
He was a visionary, a showman, and a demanding taskmaster. He was also one of the most successful CEOs of his generation. Here’s a look at the life and career of Steve Jobs.
Table of Contents:
1. Early Life: Growing up in Silicon Valley
2. The founding of Apple Computer
3. The Apple II and the Macintosh
4. The NeXT Computer
5. The iPod, iPhone, and iPad
6. Later Years and Legacy
7. Top Steve Jobs Quotes
Early Life: Growing up in Silicon Valley
Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, in San Francisco, California, to two University of Wisconsin graduate students who gave him up for adoption. He was raised in the Silicon Valley town of Mountain View by his adoptive parents, Paul and Clara Jobs.
As a youngster, Jobs showed an early interest in electronics and tinkering. He took apart radios and other electronics to see how they worked. He also developed a love for pranks and practical jokes.
In 1972, Jobs enrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. He dropped out after one semester, but he continued to drop in on classes that interested him, including a calligraphy class that would later inspire the elegant typography of the Macintosh.
After leaving Reed, Jobs traveled to India in search of spiritual enlightenment. When he returned to the U.S., he took a job at Atari, a leading video game company. He then went on to co-found Apple Computer with Steve Wozniak.
The Founding of Apple Computer
In 1976, Jobs and Wozniak started Apple Computer in Jobs’ garage. The company was founded on the principles of simplicity and creativity.
Jobs and Wozniak designed and built the first Apple computer, the Apple I. They sold the computer for $666.66, which was a bargain at the time. The Apple I was followed by the Apple II, one of the first mass-produced personal computers.
The Apple II was a huge success, and it made Jobs and Wozniak millionaires. Apple went public in 1980, and Jobs’ net worth soared to more than $100 million.
The Apple II and the Macintosh
In the early 1980s, Apple was the undisputed leader in the personal computer industry. But that all changed with the introduction of the IBM PC in 1981.
To compete with IBM, Jobs and his team designed the Macintosh, a computer with a graphical user interface that was far easier to use than the IBM PC. The Macintosh was introduced in 1984 with a now-famous commercial that aired during the Super Bowl.
The Macintosh was a commercial success, but it didn’t sell as well as the Apple II. Jobs was ousted from Apple in 1985.
The NeXT Computer
After leaving Apple, Jobs founded a new computer company, NeXT. The NeXT Computer was introduced in 1988 and was aimed at the education and business markets.
The NeXT Computer was a technical success, but it was too expensive for most consumers. The company struggled to find its niche and was eventually sold to Apple in 1996.
The iPod, iPhone, and iPad
In 2001, Apple introduced the iPod, a portable digital music player that revolutionized the way we listen to music. The iPod was followed by the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad in 2010.
Each of these products has had a profound impact on the way we live and work. The iPod, iPhone, and iPad are all designed with simplicity and ease of use in mind.
Legacy
In 2011, Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple due to health concerns. He passed away on October 5, 2011, at the age of 56.
Jobs was a legendary figure in the tech world. He was a visionary and a showman. He was also a demanding taskmaster.
Jobs was an original thinker who saw the potential of personal computers and the way we use them in our everyday lives. He was a driving force behind some of the most important and game-changing products of our time.
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.”– Steve Jobs
“Quality is much better than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.”– Steve Jobs
“I think the things you most regret in life are things you didn’t do. What you really regret was never asking that girl to dance.”– Steve Jobs
“To turn really interesting ideas and fledgling technologies into a company that can continue to innovate for years, it requires a lot of disciplines.”– Steve Jobs
“It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the Navy.”– Steve Jobs
“Great things in business are never done by one person,They are done by a team of people.”– Steve Jobs
“Each year has been so robust with problems and successes and learning experiences and human experienes that a year is a lifetime at Apple. So this has been ten lifetimes.”– Steve Jobs
“Even if we lose our money, we’ll have a company,” Jobs told Steve Wozniak early on, in the mid-1970s.
“For once in our lives, we’ll have a company.”– Steve Jobs
“You think, well, focusing is saying yes. No, focusing is about saying no. Focusing is about saying no. And you’ve got to say no, no, no. When you say no, you piss off people.”– Steve Jobs
“Sometimes life is going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.”– Steve Jobs
“God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth.”– Steve Jobs
“You have to believe that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”– Steve Jobs
“You can build your own things that other people can use. And once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”– Steve Jobs
“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.”– Steve Jobs
“You should never start a company with the goal of getting rich. Your goal should be making something you believe in and making a company that will last.”– Steve Jobs
“I was lucky – I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents’ garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years, Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees.”– Steve Jobs
“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.”– Steve Jobs
“But Apple really beats to a different drummer. I used to say that Apple should be the Sony of this business, but in reality, I think Apple should be the Apple of this business.”– Steve Jobs
“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”– Steve Jobs
“Everyone here has the sense that right now is one of those moments when we are influencing the future.”– Steve Jobs
“There is a tremendous amount of craftsmanship between a great idea and a great product.”– Steve Jobs
“I want to put a ding in the universe.”– Steve Jobs
“When You Need A Miracle, Be Miracle.”
“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”– Steve Jobs
“Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have a faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.”– Steve Jobs
“Don’t take it all too seriously. If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much. You have to be willing to take whatever you’ve done and whoever you were and throw them away.”– Steve Jobs
“In the broadest context, the goal is to seek enlightenment – however you define it.”– Steve Jobs
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life.”– Steve Jobs
“I’m an optimist in the sense that I believe humans are noble and honorable, and some of them are really smart. I have a very optimistic view of individuals.”– Steve Jobs
“You’ve baked a really lovely cake, but then you’ve used dog… for frosting.”– Steve Jobs
“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.”– Steve Jobs
“I don’t mind being wrong, and I’ll admit that I’m wrong a lot. It doesn’t really matter to me too much. What matters to me is that we do the right thing.”– Steve Jobs
“You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you’re not passionate enough from the start, you’ll never stick it out.”– Steve Jobs
“I’m very excited about having the Internet in my den.”– Steve Jobs
“Details matter, it’s worth waiting to get it right.”– Steve Jobs
“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.”– Steve Jobs
“The Lisa people wanted to do something great. And the Mac people want to do something insanely great. The difference shows.”– Steve Jobs
“Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.”– Steve Jobs
“We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So, it better be damn good. It better be worth it.”– Steve Jobs
“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.”– Steve Jobs
“Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.”– Steve Jobs
“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”– Steve Jobs
“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.”– Steve Jobs
“Computers themselves, and software yet to be developed, will revolutionize the way we learn.”– Steve Jobs
“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. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.”– Steve Jobs
“Put a dent in the universe.”– Steve Jobs
“I think we’re having fun. I think our customers really like our products. And we’re always trying to do better.”– Steve Jobs
“My model for business is The Beatles: They were four guys that kept each others’ negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of the parts.”– Steve Jobs
“What is Apple, after all? Apple is about people who think ‘outside the box,’ people who want to use computers to help them change the world, to help them create things that make a difference, and not just to get a job done.”– Steve Jobs
“Learn more and Know more.”– Steve Jobs
“When you’re doing something for yourself, or your best friend or family, you’re not going to cheese out. If you don’t love something, you’re not going to go the extra mile, work the extra weekend, challenge the status quo as much.”– Steve Jobs
“Things don’t have to change the world to be important.”– Steve Jobs
“My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.”– Steve Jobs
“We’re going to be able to ask our computers to monitor things for us, and when certain conditions happen, are triggered, the computers will take certain actions and inform us after the fact.”– Steve Jobs
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