Whenever I see this picture of some guy paying tribute to Steve Jobs at a ceremony; instead of being sad, I feel nostalgic that Jobs’ legacy will live on as long as technology reigns.
“No great man lives in vain. The history of the world is but the biography of great men.” – Thomas Carlyle
Every great life gives you a myriad of lessons. If you are keen enough to learn from them, then you are destined towards greatness too. Here are 10 secrets of life Steve Jobs would want you to know.
1. “What would Steve Jobs do?”
During the absence of Steve, whenever they had a problem in Apple, insiders would tackle the problem by contemplating, “What would Steve do in this situation?” Jobs immediately chucked off that notion by declaring that, “we can never take present decisions basing on the past examples.” Instead, he encouraged them to do what they are actually supposed to do. So, Apple has become invincible even after Steve’s death.
A secret from Steve Jobs – “No one answer fits every scenario, you have to constantly explore.”
2. Simplicity is achieved through complexity
Somehow we feel that achieving simplicity is far easier than being complex. As Einstein famously puts it, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” True. You can only achieve simplicity after passing through confusing phases of complexity.
A secret from Steve Jobs – “Be simple, aim to be simple for greatness resides in simplicity.”
3. Sell people their dreams, not your products or services
Never ever sell your products or services. Just sell people their dreams. Make it so that they are crazy not to worship your brand. That’s what happened with Apple. Steve just showed the way to the dreams we had. To put it simply, we believed in him. He never asked us to purchase Apple products. They just empowered us with the technology to achieve.
A secret from Steve Jobs – “You just have to change the perspective. Make your brand personal.”
4. Going minimal is the key
Minimalism is the new habit now. Have you ever noticed that all the Apple products come without a manual and with minimal packaging? That’s because, Jobs believed in being minimal and simply executed it.
A secret from Steve Jobs – “The secret of happiness is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.”
5. Provide them with social currency
Just as people use money to buy products or services, they also use social currency to achieve desired positive impressions among their families, friends, and colleagues. You need to leverage your dynamics to give people ways to achieve and provide visible symbols or status that they can show to others, just like Apple.
A secret from Steve Jobs – “Make people feel good, they will follow you.”
6. Discard the obvious
“There are thousand no’s for every yes. We simplify, we perfect and we start over until everything we touch enhances each life it touches. Only then do we sign our work.” – Apple
Discarding the obvious choice is the key to Apple’s success. Random choices are obvious, but the perfect choice takes time. You might arrive at your choice, only after discarding many other choices.
A secret from Steve Jobs – “Say ‘NO’ for every ‘YES’ until you reach the desired result. Rise above the mediocrity by discarding obvious choices.
Watch this video, “Working Strategy” of Apple for more secrets.
7. Provide value continuously
Money is what you get when you exchange something of value. Steve Jobs knew this secret pretty well. Take any Apple product, you will have continuous value propositions — be it in the form of iTunes, software updates, free trials, or many others. You will never regret purchasing an Apple product because you receive value propositions throughout its lifetime.
A secret from Steve Jobs – “Be indispensable and provide value. People will follow you but do it as a habit not as a strategy.”
8. Vision is crucial
Check out this video first before examining the vision of a product.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNfRgSlhIW0
Way back in 1991, Jobs imagined the vision of applications and personal computers for everyone. He even discussed the strategy of providing applications pertaining to every subject of study to empower people in that arena (in the above video). To put it simply, he was 20 years ahead. Envisioning something out of nothing can only be done by a few great souls like Steve.
A secret from Steve Jobs – “Stick on to the vision and believe in it. You will achieve it.”
9. Make lives easy
Steve Jobs made everything easy for consumers. Do you know that all Apple products comes “pre-charged”, so that you can enjoy the product without facing the hassle of waiting for it to get charged before you can enjoy it. This is just one example. Every effort of Steve Jobs had only one goal: to make our lives easy.
“Serve people as much as you can. You have the evidence.” – APPLE
10. Aesthetics matter
Design matters. Often the quality of designed environment determines the quality of life. Jobs believed in it. He constantly hinted that, “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” Beauty is a promise of goodness, it encourages our better sides.
A secret from Steve Jobs – “Good design helps us to be the best version of ourselves. Strive for it.”
Featured photo credit: gNakata via amagico.com
