Whether you like or dislike Apple products or even the way they do business, there is something about Steve Jobs that you cannot ever deny, he was a leader! One of my mentors forwarded me the commencement speech that Steve Jobs gave in 2005 to Stanford University. It is incredibly encouraging and eye opening for any aspiring leader, and I strongly suggest you watch it.

After watching this short speech numerous times, there is a subtle principle that Steve had that is often overlooked. Leaders create opportunities. He never said this in his speech, but it is woven into everything he said. This is especially true when he talked about when Apple fired him. So what does Steve do when he is let go from a company that he built with his bare hands? He starts two more successful companies called Pixar and Next. He didn’t give up on his dreams and he didn’t blame others for his situation. He created more opportunities to do what he loved. As Steve would say… Stay hungry, stay foolish!