January 4, 2017
10 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, remains one of the most quoted people in modern history. And why not? He lead several companies, most notably Apple, which revolutionized personal computers, communications, and both the music and film industries.
Plus, man, could Jobs talk. When people talk about how chief executives need communication skills, Jobs should be Exhibit A. Just Google “Steve Jobs” and you can spend a day reading interviews or watching videos of his many speeches.
Of course, his quotes are everywhere, too. So in creating this list we looked specifically for quotes that can inspire or advise entrepreneurs. We also sought quotes that may not be quite as famous, such as the ones revealed this year by Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi.
A frequent critique of any list such as this, or even some of Jobs speeches, is that “not everyone can be Steve Jobs.” These miss the point. If your business is far from cutting-edge technology – maybe you run a cupcake bakery or an internet marketing company – that doesn’t mean that Jobs’ experiences and lessons don’t apply. We can’t all be William Shakespeare or Vince Lombardi, either, but that doesn’t stop people from drawing lessons from what they had to say.
Plus, with the well-received “Steve Jobs” film hitting cable, he is back on the minds of many people. And a whole new generation of young people are getting exposed to his story.
You may notice a theme of shaking up the status quo runs through many of these quotes. That’s as it should be. You didn’t become an entrepreneur – or aspire to be one – because you wanted to follow the herd. Entrepreneurship isn’t the arena for the followers.