Steve Jobs's Best Quotes: The Former Apple CEO's Most Memorable Sayings

Apple announced that Steve Jobs will be resigning as CEO, a position he has held for more than a decade. The company's official press release stated that the board of directors had named Tim Cook CEO and that Jobs would remain as chairman of the board.

As acting CEO since 1997, Steve Jobs has been the public face of the company, taking the stage at high-profile product launches and press gatherings, speaking at universities and conferences. We've gathered some of Jobs's most memorable quotes during that time, from the humorous to the visionary. Take a look and vote for your favorites. Do you remember any great lines that we missed? Let us know in the comments below.

For more of Steve Jobs throughout the years, take a look at his most iconic Apple moments. Then, read up on Tim Cook, the new Apple CEO. For more on Apple's huge announcement, check out our roundup of reactions from Twitter users.

Comments

[sexmessiah]

02:44 PM on 08/25/2011

"Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask a creative person how they did something, they may feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after awhile. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or have thought more about their experiences than other people have. Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. They don’t have enough dots to connect, and they en up with very linear solutions, without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better designs we will have.”

[aphextwin07]

09:52 AM on 08/25/2011

some pretty good quotes...

[CogitoErgoSum VA]

09:27 AM on 08/25/2011

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. ... Stay hungry. Stay foolish."

Such a wise man. I highly recommend everyone listen to that speech.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA

[Howard Latchford]

10:27 PM on 08/25/2011

I think that I think, therefore I think that I am.

[x 2day]

09:23 AM on 08/25/2011

"bicycles for are mind" .... does anyone proofread? or is that just because of the youtube vid's title. either way it's embarrassing, a website like this ought to do better -- i see a lot of annoying, basic mistakes. oh, well.

[Eroshan]

10:02 AM on 08/25/2011

Steve....is that you?

[BlueOnBlue]

09:20 AM on 08/25/2011

In a few minutes, Apple's stock price is going to bow down, in a gesture of respect for this man. It will recover, but today it will bow.

[Jayanta Sarkar]

06:30 AM on 08/25/2011

Steve Jobs is way above the comments of ordinary people like me...He inspires humility and genius alike...

[Gup]

02:45 AM on 08/25/2011

I may use an Android OS, but Steve Jobs made it possible for me to get it. The innovation in the tech would have taken a lot longer without him, I believe.

[Highball]

02:41 AM on 08/25/2011

That Stanford commencement address is mind-blowing. Anyone who has never listened to it needs to.

[CogitoErgoSum VA]

09:25 AM on 08/25/2011

Absolutely

[ElodieStClair]

02:00 AM on 08/25/2011

This one is a classic as well.

When asked why he thought Apple had been able to so out-innovate Bill Gates and Microsoft, Jobs said:

"I wish him the best, I really do. I just think he and Microsoft are a bit narrow. He'd be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger."

[slejames]

01:40 AM on 08/25/2011

They forgot "porn doesn't belong on the internet or Apple devices" and "Just because someone buys one of our products doesn't mean they have any rights to it or to the content on it."

[The Contrary]

01:14 AM on 08/25/2011

Another Steve Jobs best quote to be added to the collection:

"When you're the janitor, reasons matter. Somewhere between the janitor and the CEO, reasons stop mattering, that Rubicon is crossed when you become a VP."

-Steve Jobs Steve Jobs On The Difference Between A Vice President And A Janitor-

[awckid3]

12:23 AM on 08/25/2011

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. ... Stay hungry. Stay foolish."

This should be on billboards everywhere.

[tmispy]

11:55 PM on 08/24/2011

I absolutely love this quote, "Picasso had a saying: 'Good artists copy, great artists steal.' We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas"

This is true in business and practiced daily, just not admitted so openly.

[Lynda Filler]

11:52 PM on 08/24/2011

I find him so inspiring. I have listened to his Stanford Commencement speech so many times. I wish him the best, and a very long full life.

[urnumbersix]

10:57 PM on 08/24/2011

Thank you Steve Jobs for your legacy.

Apple products were always the answers to my dreams over the years --

I distinctly recall -- as a freshman anthropology college student in 1976, who had been "advised" to take computer courses (because "it was the future"), struggling in Intro Fortran and Cobal, WAITING for hours for "my turn" to get my "batch cards" processed, many times having to come back the next day, or TWO! --

...seething, yelling in my mind,

"Effe This!"

"I don't Want to know How it works. The zeros and the ones."

"They have Got to be crazy, if they think people outside of the field are going to learn "languages" just to crunch data."

"I'm quitting this crap!
Because SOMEONE, Somewhere, is going to figure out people like me.
We Just Want "It" To WORK!
No hassles!
It is a "tool" to another end, not our lifeblood!"

I can't tell you how many Professors told me I would be "doomed" if I did not learn Cobal!

Thank you Steve Jobs, for filling a needed niche.

My 80-year-old mother Loves her iPad!
She hasn't a clue, but is having a ball!
And she still hovers near the base of her cordless phone, as if it were attached.
AND still announces when a call is "long distance!"
"Shhh! Long Distance!"

LOL!