The Right Time

When Steve Jobs died, Forbes wrote an article on lessons that he taught us, both for business and for us personally.

Jobs did not believe in customer surveys or focus groups to find out what they want in a product. He believed customers, for the most part, do not know what they want, but when he came out with his unique products, people found out they could not live without one. He trusted himself more than he trusted others. Many of the greatest artists and inventors felt the same way and changed history.

Think about companies started by one or two people not afraid to fail, like IKEA, Facebook, McDonalds, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Google, Amazon, Disney, Harley Davidson and, of course, Apple. There are hundreds more.

Jobs was fired by his successor but continued his dream and he eventually returned to Apple as its leader and led it to greater success. In his 2005 speech to Stamford graduates, he said “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

He encouraged those who listened to him not to fear failure, but to listen instead to the voice in back of your head. Many of us snuff out that little voice and listen to what others want us to be.

He believed that anything is possible through hard work, determination and vision. And at the end of the day, he was just a regular guy, like any of us in many ways.

Live a vital life.