There is no reason not to follow your heart

"There is no reason not to follow your heart."

...Just figure out what’s next.

“I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next.”

[NBC Nightly News, May 2006]

I’ll always stay connected with Apple..

“I’ll always stay connected with Apple. I hope that throughout my life I’ll sort of have the thread of my life and the thread of Apple weave in and out of each other, like a tapestry. There may be a few years when I’m not there, but I’ll always come back.

[Playboy, Feb. 1, 1985]

If they did, they wouldn’t have made the PCjr.

Playboy: Are you saying that the people who made PCjr don’t have that kind of pride in the product?

“If they did, they wouldn’t have made the PCjr.”

[Playboy, Feb. 1, 1985]

...just fall away in the face of death...

"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."

That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity...

“That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

[BusinessWeek, May 25, 1998, in a profile that also included the following gem: "Steve clearly has done an incredible job," says former Apple Chief Financial Officer Joseph Graziano. "But the $64,000 question is: Will Apple ever resume growth?"]

Design is a funny word...

"Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works. The design of the Mac wasn’t what it looked like, although that was part of it. Primarily, it was how it worked. To design something really well, you have to get it. You have to really grok what it’s all about. It takes a passionate commitment to really thoroughly understand something, chew it up, not just quickly swallow it. Most people don’t take the time to do that."

We think the Mac will sell zillions...

"We think the Mac will sell zillions, but we didn’t build the Mac for anybody else. We built it for ourselves. We were the group of people who were going to judge whether it was great or not. We weren’t going to go out and do market research. We just wanted to build the best thing we could build."

Playboy (Feb 1, 1985)

Remembering that I'll be dead soon...

"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."

Stanford commencement address (2005)

I never graduated from college. Truth be told...

"I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation."

Standford commencement address (2005)

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life.

"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."

Apple's strategy revolves around one fundamental concept...

"Apple's strategy revolves around one fundamental concept, which is to make some really great products"

1997 Keynote

You’ve got to start with the customer experience and...

You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work backwards for the technology.

1997 Keynote

...I don’t care about being different.

If we can be much better without being different, that would be fine with me. I want to be much better. I don’t care about being different.

1997 Keynote

The system ...

"The system is that there is no system. That doesn't mean we don't have process. Apple is a very disciplined company, and we have great processes. But that's not what it's about. Process makes you more efficient.

But innovation comes from people meeting up in the hallways or calling each other at 10:30 at night with a new idea, or because they realized something that shoots holes in how we've been thinking about a problem. It's ad hoc meetings of six people called by someone who thinks he has figured out the coolest new thing ever and who wants to know what other people think of his idea.

And it comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don't get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We're always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it's only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important."

As quoted in "The Seed of Apple's Innovation"in Business Week (12 October 2004)

March forward one foot in front of the other...

"March forward one foot in front of the other. The press and the stock price will take care of themselves."

1997 Keynote

I would trade all of my technology for ...

"I would trade all of my technology for an afternoon with Socrates."

– As quoted in Newsweek (29 October 2001)

So when a good idea comes ...

“So when a good idea comes, you know, part of my job is to move it around, just see what different people think, get people talking about it, argue with people about it, get ideas moving among that group of 100 people, get different people together to explore different aspects of it quietly, and, you know – just explore things.”

It's very character-building.

“I’m the only person I know that’s lost a quarter of a billion dollars in one year…. It’s very character-building.”

It's like giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell!

"It's like giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell!"

On how Apple is the largest developer for Microsoft Windows due to the popularity of its iTunes software, at the All Things Digital Conference 5 (30 May 2007), on stage with Bill Gates, Kara Swisher and Walter Mossberg.