Intro

There’s 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…So we need to be true to who we are and remember what’s really important to us.

Creativity

So, to be a creative person, you need to “feed” or “invest” in yourself by exploring uncharted paths that are outside the realm of your past experience. Seek out new dimensions of yourself — especially those that carry a romantic scent.

Regrets vs Mistakes

Regrets are different from mistakes. Mistakes are things you did that you wish you could do over again… Regrets are most often things you didn’t do, and wish you did.

Excellence as a Habit

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle

Ingredients to Innovation

LB: One of my favorite quotes from him is where he says that optimism is the essential ingredient for innovation.

SJ: Well, it’s optimism and passion, because it’s really hard. And if you don’t really, really care about what you’re doing, you’re gonna give up if you’re a sane person—because it’s just super hard. I’m sure it was extremely hard for him at times.

…

His job was to, number one, recruit; number two, set an overall direction; and number three, you know, inspire and cajole and persuade.

Hiring

The most important lesson I ever learned was that you have to hire people better than you are.

And that’s one of my mantras around Apple and Pixar: that recruiting is the most important thing that you do. Finding the right people—that’s half the battle.