Steve Jobs' Best Business Advice
In the wake of his resignation announcement, the Wall Street Journal rounded up Steve Jobs' best quotes, culled from various interviews, speeches, product announcements, and the like.
Obviously, for any BNET reader, there's some gold to be mined in Jobs' words -- the guy knows how to build a business from scratch, revitalize a business that's on the brink of failure, and elevate a business to global-powerhouse status.
For me, however, the best quotes can be found in the section "On Life." (Scroll way, way down.) Specifically, in a 2005 commencement address at Stanford University, Jobs said this:
"When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: 'If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right.' It made an impression on me, and since then, 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.
"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. 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."
Words to live by, no? I'm in the process of reevaluating my own business life, trying to decide if I should make some big moves or stick with the status quo. When I factor my own mortality into the decision-making process, it does indeed make all the expectations and fear fall away.
The "hack" here, then, is to do likewise when faced with your own business dilemmas. If you died tomorrow, would you regret not having opened that new store? Or launched that new product? Or kept that same job? These kinds of questions are much easier to answer when you approach them from a bigger-picture perspective.
Do you have a favorite Steve Jobs quote? And do you agree with his thoughts on the "death perspective"? Share your own thoughts in the comments!
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