Steve Jobs is someone that I really admire. Someone who paved the way for a lot of entrepreneurs to find expression in their uniqueness, while also making them comfortable in it. In his lifetime, he revolutionized six industries, 6! And right until his death, he has been an inspiration and will continue to be.
In this article, you’re going to find Steve’s story really inspiring as he teaches us the power of focus.
It all started when he was kicked out of his company, Apple, on the 16th of September 1985, when he was just 30 years old. This was really devastating for him but he went on and found Next and Pixar.
He came back with a really daunting mission, and it was near impossible to pull something like that off, especially with Apple’s state as at then.
Apple lost over $1 billion in 1997, and sales went down a little above 30%. There were just a lot of products Apple was producing as at then, and with how everything was going, it would have been impossible for Apple to bounce back up.
After a while, Steve Jobs became irritated by the numerous products it had, that he decided to reduce the number of products Apple produced by 70 percent. So, Apple started producing only 30 percent of all it’s products, and even though his team thought he had gone mad, somehow, they just had this trust in his judgment that they all carried on diligently.
One year later, Apple had a whopping $309 million profit.
You see, a lot of us want to do everything, be everywhere, and be everyone but it never pays! Focus is a really important skill you will acquire. It may be really painful, but that’s the only way you can make something worthwhile for yourself.
So, I dare you today, leave that circle that takes a bunch of your time while offering you very little. Leave that position you’re holding if that is getting in the way of having your personal work done. Cut down on all those goals that you have set for yourself that just seems too much, and narrow your focus down to the very few that really matter to you.
There is something called the 80/20 rule. This was formulated by the Italian Economist, Pareto. It’s a principle that states that 80 percent of effects come from 20 percent of the causes. This tells us that there are a few 20 percents in our lives that when we begin to pay attention to, can cause a massive flow of success. Focus on that 20.
Have very few things that you want to spend quality time doing, and forget the quantity of stuff that doesn’t really have a huge impact on your career, business, and overall, your life.
Steve Jobs passed on the value of focus when asked by the CEO of Nike, Mark Parker, when he asked him if he had any advice for him. he said;
“Well, just one thing… Nike makes some of the best products in the world. Products that you lust after. But you also make a lot of crap. Just get rid of the crappy stuff and focus on the good stuff.”
And that made a lot of difference!
