Steve Jobs - Words of Wisdom

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

It seems that not only was Steve Jobs a visionary when it came to technology, but also in his view on life. I came across a website (Macstories), where they posted 60 quotes that were classic "Steve." I read through them, and have to agree with many of the commentators ... the quotes were funny, ironic, straightforward and ya, inspirational.

“Innovation distinguishes between
a leader and a follower.”
–  Steve Jobs, in via

Now, although I do use a Macintosh computer daily, I've never been a huge Apple follower. I chose to use Macs primarily due to my choice of career. As a graphic designer/creative consultant, I needed the equipment and software that met the "industry standards." And Macs were, and still are, 'it' as far as the graphics community goes.

I actually have both a PC and two Macs (an iMac and a MacBook), and have had several of both over my 25 year career as a designer. And although I'm not as heavily into design as I used to be, focusing instead on marketing and promoting Michael's work, I do still keep a couple of fingers in the pot. And, that's why I've stuck with the Macs. From my experience, they are pretty much problem free. I've never had a virus, or a major system failure. I have to tell you, that's worth it right there! About 5 years back we had a PC backup drive die in the morning, by that afternoon, the main drive had gone as well .... $2500 and 4 weeks later ... you get the picture (not pretty). Needless to say, I'm pretty loyal to the Mac when it comes to work.

That's why, even though I'm not an Apple junkie or even follower, really (I don't have an iPod, iPad, iPhone, etc), I was drawn to read up a bit on Steve Jobs. Who, agreeably, was an incredible visionary and creative genius.

Here are my two favorite quotes. The first one, because as the wife of an artist with Michael's drive and determination — never allowing me, or anyone else, to rush him through any of his paintings — it sums up Michael's commitment to his craft and style in a nutshell. And although we'd all like to see him paint faster (because we want to see more of his work), he'd rather only produce 3 or 4 great paintings in a year, than 6-8, what he would consider, second-rate ones. And I get that. He puts so much into each piece, he's not willing to do less than his best.

The second quote is along the same lines, be excellent in whatever you do, but goes beyond that in it's total message: Life is a gift. Make the most of it. Do what you love. And do it really, really well. (you can quote me!!). I think that says it all. — Linda

“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.”
–  Steve Jobs, interview in Businessweek

“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, interview in Fortune

Steve Jobs, 1955-2011