Top 6 Skills Entrepreneurs should learn from Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs is one of the greatest inspiration for many people who want to make their mark in the tech world. The tech genius made Apple one of the most valuable and successful companies in the world.

Years after his passing, most young entrepreneurs consider him as a source of inspiration. Here are a few skills that we all can learn from the greatest genius and apply in our lives to achieve our goals.

1. Think Differently:

Steve Jobs, as we all know, the billionaire founder of Apple computers, as early as in his early twenties almost single-handedly had introduced to the world, the first computer that could sit on the table and do things, which were unimagined at that time. He revolutionized music and innovated the iPod and a wide selection of songs at the iTunes store. The introduction of the iPhone, which would put much of the power of a computer neatly into the palm of one’s hand, has almost transformed the way whole humanity is living in this digital era.

“Think Different” is the tagline of Apple. This quality of thinking differently and thinking out of the box has led Apple to extraordinary innovations and transformations in the digital world. This is a very important aspect that every entrepreneur should cultivate to make their ventures unique and successful.

2. Learn by exploration:

During his childhood days, Steve has spent his time with his dad in his mechanical workshop in their garage, learning how to build things, how to take things apart, and put things back together. Knowing Steve’s interest in electronics over mechanical things, his dad exposed him to electronics/radios/television and other gadgets which Steve assembled, dismantled, and reassembled as a practical way of learning. This gave him a tremendous level of self-confidence and understanding that through exploration and learning one could understand seemingly very complex things in one’s environment. Because of this nothing scared him and nothing seemed complex to him.

This understanding had led to great innovations and products at Apple, elevating humanity to the altogether next level. Entrepreneurs, especially the budding ones, should understand the importance of this learning through exploration and inculcate this in their day-to-day life.

3. Have an imaginary vision:

During the preliminary stages of Apple, Steve always imagined a computer that was as graceful and elegant as it was useful. He gave aesthetics equal importance to the technology. He could even look at the beige box and see the beauty. This intersection of technology and art has resulted in something truly special. Only his imaginary vision had driven him with varying degrees of success in his ventures.

While designing a mouse for the Apple computer, he wanted it to move in all directions, and not just up and down or left and right. He was also clear that he wanted to be able to use this mouse on his jeans as well as on a desktop surface.

When he started NeXT, Jobs used to say, “You have to have a real single-minded tunnel vision, if you want to get anything significant accomplished”

Having an imaginary vision is very important for every entrepreneur while developing their products across, many industries and also during their execution.

4. Think Big

While developing Apple, Jobs used to push his team to develop more new tools and graphics. He wanted them to aspire to a bigger and more cosmic goal. He used to say to them, “Let’s make a dent in the universe. We’ll make it so important that it will make a dent in the universe”. While building Macintosh, he used to tell his team again and again that it needs to be insanely great.

Steve’s attitude of thinking big is also visible when he questioned Sculley, who was then working in a leadership position in Pepsi-cola and was little oscillating as to whether join Apple or not, saying, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?” This made Sculley take the decision of joining Apple right away.

   As an entrepreneur, if you truly want to make anything significant and big, thinking big is the very fundamental requirement.

5. Focus on the Journey, not on the reward:

Though Apple made Jobs a millionaire, making money was not his focus. He focused on what he wanted to do. For him, the journey is the reward. He used to say, “It’s not just the accomplishment of something incredible. It’s the actual doing of something incredible, day in and day out, getting the chance to participate in something really incredible”.

This attitude had helped Jobs, to pursue his vision and passion and create another great product and a new company, even when he was kicked out of Apple, the company which he had co-founded.

6. Develop your inner energy:

Steve had always been a seeker throughout his life and obsessed with questions like who we are? He has learned the power of intuition and experiential wisdom over intellect and rational thinking – a difference of approaches that influenced his life’s work. Even from the age of seventeen, he had the habit of thinking each day that that day is his last day. He strictly followed a vegan diet, where no animals are harmed.

In his most famous Stanford University talk, he has advised the students to have the courage to follow their hearts and intuition. He said, “Your heart and intuition somehow already know what you really want to become”.

Hence, developing the inner energy is most important for all budding and existing entrepreneurs, if they want to succeed in their ventures.

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, take inspiration from great entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs which will make a significant difference in your lives.