On 6th anniversary of death of Steve Jobs, Apple CEO Tim Cook still inspired by his late f...

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Six years ago today, Apple cofounder Steve Jobs passed away. The company's current CEO, Tim Cook, reflected the occasion on Thursday with a quote from the iconic visionary.




"Make something wonderful, and put it out there," were the words of Jobs heard last month before the unveiling of the iPhone X.

Cook quoted them again on Thursday on his Twitter account, adding: "Remembering Steve today. Still with us, still inspiring us."





Jobs passed away on Oct. 5, 2011 at age 56, after a long bout with cancer.

The words of Jobs echoed through his namesake theater last month, when Cook and the rest of Apple unveiled the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. At the time, Cook said it was only fitting that Jobs should help to open his own theater.

Remembering Steve today. Still with us, still inspiring us. "Make something wonderful, and put it out there." pic.twitter.com/7aOCPkwU0U

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook)


"Steve meant so much to me, and so much to all of us," Cook said at the iPhone X event. "There's not a day that goes by that we don't think about him. Memories have especially come rushing back as we prepared for today and this event. It's taken some time, but we can now reflect on him with joy, instead of sadness. Steve's spirit and timeless philosophy on life will always be the DNA of Apple.

The full quote from Jobs, heard at the opening of the Steve Jobs Theater, follows:
There are lots of ways to be as a person. And some people express their deep appreciation in different ways. But one of the ways that I believe people express their appreciation to the rest of humanity is to make something wonderful, and put it out there. And you never meet the people, you never shake their hands, you never hear their story or tell yours. But somehow in the act of making something with a great deal of care and love, something's transmitted there. And it's a way of expressing to the rest of our species, our deep appreciation. So we need to be true to who we are. And remember what's really important to us. That's what's going to keep Apple, Apple -- is if we keep us, us.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    It's too bad people just want to bitch back to Tim's tweet about how he's apparently "ruining" everything Steve built. Lets remember Steve for who he is and what he did when we was here rather than sit and think we know what he would have done if he were still here running Apple...if he would even still be running Apple, who knows! People on social media are just flat out mean. I guess its all too easy to be tough behind the keyboard. I'm glad I don't really participate in social media much. Some people just don't have a single clue what its like to run one of the largest companies in the world. 
    edited October 2017 radarthekatStrangeDayswlymJWSCRacerhomieXwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 2 of 19
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    I've read and watched everything I could find that was written about Steve -- and none of it seems to capture him or his essence.  Each one focuses on a single aspect without understanding the whole and produces a distorted caricature.

    When I watch Steve himself or read his words I see an extremely complex person who remained deeply thoughtful, caring and genuine -- and passionate about his role in life.  And, it appears to me that his genius derived from the sum total of all of that.

    There will never be another Steve...  Never.
    edited October 2017 radarthekatdoozydozentyler82watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 19
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    macxpress said:
    It's too bad people just want to bitch back to Tim's tweet about how he's apparently "ruining" everything Steve built. Lets remember Steve for who he is and what he did when we was here rather than sit and think we know what he would have done if he were still here running Apple...if he would even still be running Apple, who knows! People on social media are just flat out mean. I guess its all too easy to be tough behind the keyboard. I'm glad I don't really participate in social media much. Some people just don't have a single clue what its like to run one of the largest companies in the world. 
    Tim Cook tweeted about the shooting in Vegas. I didn’t see that on the front page of rumor sites. The only reason this is is because it’s good for clicks. I’m sure by the end of the day MacRumors will have hundreds of comments about how great Apple was under Steve and how much it sucks under Tim. That’s the only reason this is considered front page news. I mean it’s not like Tim said anything new or Apple doing anything special to remember Steve. 
  • Reply 4 of 19
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator

    When I read the book Becoming Steve Jobs, I came away thinking it was a fair appraisal of the complexion of a person whose every thought, every quote, and every decision has been scrutinized for several decades. I had the fortune to spend 26 years, beginning in 1985, working in software start-ups, constantly under the invent-or-die paridigm in which someone like a Steve Jobs comes to stardom. I worked for the same CEO in three consecutive companies throughout that 26 year period; probably one of the longest running continuous partnerships in the history of the fast-paced and ever changing technology industry.  He's a UC Berkley grad, and a Harvard MBA, and is a brilliant and driven entrepreneur and CEO, who grew up in Palo Alto, by the way, just a few blocks from where Jobs lived until his death. I recall shouting matches in meetings, cold dismissals of people who were lazy in their thinking, and a relentless drive to pull us all forward into a future he often single-handedly invented. Very much a portrait that might be applied to Steve Jobs. And yet, one of the most caring and human people I've ever known; a Buddist, a deep thinker, and someone who would go out of his way to serve his employees, beyond the workplace. To anyone on the receiving end of his intense and intellectual scrutiny, I can see them walking away dismissing him as nothing more than an egotistical asshole. But that's far from the truth understood by those of us who knew him for decades. I imagine the reputation of Jobs was formed in the same manner, and wholly undeserved of the actual man.

    tallest skilelectrosoftGeorgeBMacfotoformatdoozydozenfastasleepwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 5 of 19


    Another motivating quote from SJ.
    doozydozenjony0
  • Reply 6 of 19
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    I was, and still am, inspired by Steve.

    I am still rather curious if there is an office at Apple Park with his nameplate. Yes, the theater, but I understand his office at the old HQ is essentially untouched. 

    And now that I think about it, I didn't see any mention Steve's family was at the inaugural event of his theater. Makes me sort of wonder what connection they still have to the company, if any.

  • Reply 7 of 19
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    macxpress said:
    It's too bad people just want to bitch back to Tim's tweet about how he's apparently "ruining" everything Steve built. Lets remember Steve for who he is and what he did when we was here rather than sit and think we know what he would have done if he were still here running Apple...if he would even still be running Apple, who knows! People on social media are just flat out mean. I guess its all too easy to be tough behind the keyboard. I'm glad I don't really participate in social media much. Some people just don't have a single clue what its like to run one of the largest companies in the world. 
    Tim Cook tweeted about the shooting in Vegas. I didn’t see that on the front page of rumor sites. The only reason this is is because it’s good for clicks. I’m sure by the end of the day MacRumors will have hundreds of comments about how great Apple was under Steve and how much it sucks under Tim. That’s the only reason this is considered front page news. I mean it’s not like Tim said anything new or Apple doing anything special to remember Steve. 
    Well I think this is different....its Tim talking about Steve which is all about Apple from one end to the other. Tim talking about what happened in Las Vegas isn't necessarily Apple news so its not necessarily relevant. 

    You're right...there will be all kinds of comments on how Tim is screwing up Apple even though there has been new products and updates to existing ones that are working out very well for Apple. I guess some people only remember the last few years Steve was at the helm. In between it wasn't always one grand slam after another with new products. Nobody knows (including myself) what Apple would have out there today if Steve were still here. It could be the same thing...it could be another grand slam hit, or it could be absolutely nothing with people saying Steve needs to go. 
    JWSC
  • Reply 8 of 19
    tzeshantzeshan Posts: 2,351member
    A couple days some poster REMINDs me that Steve Jobs is dead when I accused Tim Cook of leading Apple product quality down. Apparently Tim Cook is still trying to follow Jobs.
  • Reply 9 of 19
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    tzeshan said:
    A couple days some poster REMINDs me that Steve Jobs is dead when I accused Tim Cook of leading Apple product quality down. Apparently Tim Cook is still trying to follow Jobs.
    Not like Apple never had quality issues when Steve was CEO...there were plenty of times where there were issues. Remember when Apple had issues with something and it went on for MONTHS without Apple admitting there was fault in anything? Yep, that was under Steve. Happened more than a couple of times. 

    Nothing has really changed...people are just looking for anything and everything to put Tim down. 
    stompyJWSCmuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 10 of 19
    Inspired by Jobs, Cook? Jobs would not accepted designers presenting to him, let along releasing an iPhone X with the "notch"

    Jobs, a CEO who noticed an icon off by 1 pixel and told the engineer to fix it doesn't accept the notch.
  • Reply 11 of 19
    justme12 said:
    Jobs, a CEO who noticed an icon off by 1 pixel and told the engineer to fix it doesn't accept the notch.
    Pure speculation, unless you have a time machine (not that one!) or you've raised the dead. Also, "doesn't" is in the present tense which, given the essence of the article, is clearly wrong. Steve chose Tim to take over his role as CEO. He did not choose Jony Ive or Phil Schiller or anyone else.
    JWSCmacxpressStrangeDays
  • Reply 12 of 19
    jcs2305jcs2305 Posts: 1,336member
    justme12 said:
    Inspired by Jobs, Cook? Jobs would not accepted designers presenting to him, let along releasing an iPhone X with the "notch"

    Jobs, a CEO who noticed an icon off by 1 pixel and told the engineer to fix it doesn't accept the notch.
    Why even bother posting this nonsense?  Steve is gone..period. You have ZERO ability to know what he would say or do in any situation now or ever. You remember how Tim Cook got the job right? He didn't enter a tournament and fight for it, or win a lottery. His friend and mentor Jobs put him in this position with trust. Stop disrespecting Steve's decision and live with it.
    edited October 2017 doozydozenmacxpresseightzeroStrangeDayswatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 13 of 19
    JWSCJWSC Posts: 1,203member

    The uncompromising vision of what could be when others could not see, the power and force of conviction that inspired those who worked for him, the unwillingness to give up in the face of setbacks.  These are some of the qualities Steve had that powered Apple to become the exceptional company it is today.

    Let’s remember him today not by lamenting his passing and second guessed the current leadership, but by reminding ourselves that any one of us can possess those qualities if we believe in ourselves strongly enough.  If we can harness even one of those qualities we can better ourselves and change the world in our own small way.

    StrangeDays
  • Reply 14 of 19
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    justme12 said:
    Inspired by Jobs, Cook? Jobs would not accepted designers presenting to him, let along releasing an iPhone X with the "notch"

    Jobs, a CEO who noticed an icon off by 1 pixel and told the engineer to fix it doesn't accept the notch.
    If you don't like the "notch"...don't buy it. Sales will determine whether or not this notch is really that big of a deal.

    It's not like there were ever stupid design decisions under Steve. Still don't know where this notion comes from that basically Apple was absolutely 100% perfect under Steve and now its all gone to hell in a hand basket under Tim. 
    JWSCStrangeDayswatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 15 of 19
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    justme12 said:
    Inspired by Jobs, Cook? Jobs would not accepted designers presenting to him, let along releasing an iPhone X with the "notch"

    Jobs, a CEO who noticed an icon off by 1 pixel and told the engineer to fix it doesn't accept the notch.
    You have no fucking idea if that is true or not. Pure fantasy on your part. Just a tired old troll trope, akin to religious whackos claiming to know what god wants. 
    watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 16 of 19
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,624member
    Six years! It seems so much more recent to me. I'm terrible at putting these things on the right spot of timelines.
    GeorgeBMac
  • Reply 17 of 19
    Anyone else find it symbolic or ironic that this was posted at 9:41?
    arie
  • Reply 18 of 19

    I got a lump in my throat seeing how genuinely choked Tim was at the beginning of the Keynote last month. He really was missing Steve.


    As for the guys who say "Steve would never..", I guess they expect Tim and Jony to take an Ouija Board and sit with the latest Apple product next to a photo of Steve and ask him his opinions.

    GeorgeBMacwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 19 of 19
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    JWSC said:

    The uncompromising vision of what could be when others could not see, the power and force of conviction that inspired those who worked for him, the unwillingness to give up in the face of setbacks.  These are some of the qualities Steve had that powered Apple to become the exceptional company it is today.

    Let’s remember him today not by lamenting his passing and second guessed the current leadership, but by reminding ourselves that any one of us can possess those qualities if we believe in ourselves strongly enough.  If we can harness even one of those qualities we can better ourselves and change the world in our own small way.

    Well said -- except for the part that all it takes is 'belief in one's self'.
    Steve didn't have any unshakeable belief in himself.   He knew he had failed in the past and would fail in the future.   He knew that mistakes and failures were inherent in striking a new path.

    But, he had unshakeable belief in the products that he produced -- because he knew how hard he and others had worked to make them as nearly perfect as possible.   He knew that they were "insanely great" products -- not because of any blind faith or irrational exuberance.  But because of the fact that they were insanely great products.

    Some people believe that all it takes is being smart.
    Some people believe that all it takes having faith in one's self
    Some people believe that all it takes is hard work
    ...  Steve knew that it took all three to make an insanely great product.
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