This was one of my favourite books ever.
I’ve always loved Apple products, but I’ve never thought much about the man who made them so great.
Steve Jobs was a visionary, and one of the greatest minds of the modern era.
He had a lot of flaws but, weirdly enough, that’s what made his products so great.
Brash, brazen, and abrupt – seemingly the traits that are required to make a modern day genius.
Here are the 5 biggest lessons I learnt from Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, with ways you can integrate them into your own life.
All quotes are taken directly from the book.
Don’t Rely On Market Research
“People don’t know what they want until you show it to them. That’s why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page.”
Steve Jobs never relied on market research.
Not because it wasn’t particularly useful, but because he felt like it held creators back from producing something groundbreaking.
When Jobs unveiled the Macintosh, a reporter asked if he’d done any research.
“Did Alexander Graham Bell do any market research before he invented the telephone?” He replied.
For many of us, ‘market research’ can be the precursor to analysis paralysis.
When we research a topic so much, and get so many different answers, that we fail to choose a direction and take action.
When you’re dipping your toes into something new, it’s great to see what others before you have done.
But when your creation is based off of what’s already been done, how can you expect to make something truly unique?
Use your intuition.
Don’t rely on market research.
Always Look To Simplify
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
Steve Jobs’ lust for simplicity went far beyond his product designs.
He once had Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake make him 100 black turtlenecks, which became part of his signature style alongside his blue jeans.
Jobs questioned the need for things that weren’t truly essential.
His mansion remained largely unfurnished for most of his life because he couldn’t decide on what to fill it with.
He questioned the need for pieces of furniture that most of us would consider essential, including sofas and washing machines.
This constant questioning is part of what made his Apple products so great.
It’s why the iPhone and MacBooks were so thin.
How would your life benefit from removing things that are just crowding your physical and mental space?
Just because you may have been conditioned to think you need something, doesn’t mean it actually has to be a part of your life.
Always look to simplify.
Don’t Be Afraid to Think Different
“It’s better to be a pirate than join the navy.”
This goes hand-in-hand with not relying on market research.
Thinking differently is what made Jobs and Apple so revolutionary.
“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes.”
Apple has always positioned itself as a brand for those who love going against the norm.
When you think and do things differently, you’re bound to fail more than someone following a path that’s been taken many times over.
That’s what happened with Apple, and that’s what’ll happen in your life if you so choose to take the path less travelled.
But that’s what makes it unique.
If you’re unhappy in life, it’s probably because you haven’t been allowing yourself to think different.
Or, even if you have, you’ve been suppressing those thoughts.
Maybe you’ve graduated school, gone straight to university, and are now working a job you hate.
If there was something you could do, and you were promised to succeed, what would it be?
Those who have succeeded on their own unique path seem to have one thing in common.
They embrace their failures and keep trying.
Failure always scared me.
But, these days, failure with a chance of success seems far more exciting than a life of mediocrity.
Don’t Be Afraid to Think Different
Position Yourself As The Beginner
“If you’re not busy being born, you’re busy dying.”
Steve Jobs was one of the most innovative minds in modern history.
Why? Because he never settled.
When he made an incredible product, he didn’t sit back and soak up the praise.
Instead, he took the great bits of the product with him as he ventured into uncharted territory, ready to make the next breakthrough in a new field.
You know what this required?
Positioning himself as the beginner again.
“If you don’t cannibalise yourself, someone else will.”
When you rest on your laurels and get too comfortable where you are, that thing you’ve beaten, fear you’ve conquered, or competitor you’re racing, is going to slowly catch up to you.
That is unless you keep growing, keep evolving.
Don’t be afraid to look silly.
Position yourself as the beginner.
Keep Death At The Forefront Of Your Mind
“Remembering I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.”
This was my favourite message in the entire book, and one I think about almost daily.
In fact, it inspired an entire blog post.
All of those annoying perceptions in your head that stop you from doing the things you truly want to do in life.
The pressure of external expectations, the fear of failure or looking like a fool – perceptions that fade away in the face of death.
“Remembering 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.”
This book also introduced me to the phrase memento mori, which appears quite frequently in my writing.
Roughly translated to ‘remember, you will die’, memento mori would be repeated by a slave who would accompany the military general on the chariot during a Roman victory parade.
A stark reminder to the general of his own mortality and impermanence.
Keep death at the forefront of your mind.
