Thankful Thursday - Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

I wish I knew the artist of this image that has been circulating around the web.

After an incredible evening of poetry at the Seattle Arts & Lecture Series with poet Dorianne Laux and so much laughter with my good friends, I woke up to the sad news Steve Jobs died yesterday.

So today's Thankful Thursday--written on my Mac--is dedicated to Mr. Steve Jobs.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Steve Jobs.

What I love about them is that they aren't just for tech-people, but all people, and specifically *creative* people.  I chose my favorites from the list, but  you can read all 60 of Steve Jobs quotes here.

Enjoy--

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”


“Why join the navy if you can be a pirate?”


“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”


“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.”

“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.”

“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles."

“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”

Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?”

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

“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. 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.”

Thank you, Steve Jobs.