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Walter Isaacson

Walter Isaacson Quotes

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Walter Isaacson is a renowned American author and biographer. Known for his in-depth research and vivid storytelling, he has written biographies about historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, and Steve Jobs. His works not only detail the lives and achievements of these individuals but also delve into their inner worlds and thoughts.

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Famous Walter Isaacson Quotes

“Simply handing over your iPod to a friend, your blind date, or the total stranger sitting next to you on the plane opens you up like a book." (Steven Levy)”

Book Next Sitting Blind Stranger Planes Ipods Blind Date Handing Over

Book:Walter Isaacson Great Innovators e-book boxed set: Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin, Einstein

Source: Walter Isaacson Great Innovators e-book boxed set: Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin, Einstein

“He had the uncanny capacity to know exactly what your weak point is, know what will make you feel small, to make you cringe," Joanna Hoffman said. "It's a common trait in people who are charismatic and know how to manipulate people. Knowing that he can crush you makes you feel weakened and eager for his approval, so then he can elevate you and put you on a pedestal and own you.”

People Knows Feels Said Common Know How Knowing Capacity Weak Crush Traits Approval Manipulate Pedestal Charismatic Cringe Uncanny Weak Points

Book:Steve Jobs

Source: Steve Jobs

“...never let a passion for the perfect take precedence over pragmatism.”

Passion Perfect Pragmatism Precedence

Book:Walter Isaacson Great Innovators e-book boxed set: Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin, Einstein

Source: Walter Isaacson Great Innovators e-book boxed set: Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin, Einstein

“I used to be an angry man myself. I’m a recovering assaholic so I could recognize that in Steve. (quoting Jean-Louis Gassée)”

Men Used Angry Used To Be Recovering Quoting Angry Man

Author:Walter Isaacson

“On Startups: "I hate it when people call themselves "entrepreneurs" when what they're really trying to do is launch a startup and then sell or go public, so they can cash in and move on.”

People Trying Moving Hate I Hate Sells Entrepreneur Cash

Author:Walter Isaacson

“i had no idea what i wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out.”

Ideas Helping Wanted Figures College No Idea Help Me Tuition Going To College Connecting The Dots College Tuition

Book:Steve Jobs

Source: Steve Jobs

“One of the strongest motives that leads men to art and science is escape from everyday life with its painful crudity and hopeless dreariness. Such men make this cosmos and its construction the pivot of their emotional life, in order to find the peace and security which they cannot find in the narrow whirlpool of personal experience.”

“If you just sit and observe, you will see how restless your mind is. If you try to calm it, it only makes it worse, but over time it does calm, and when it does, there's room to hear more subtle things - that's when your intuition starts to blossom and you start to see things more clearly and be in the present more. Your mind just slows down, and you see a tremendous expanse in the moment. You see so much more than you could see before. It's a discipline; you have to practice it.”

Ifs Trying Mind Doe Moments Rooms Practice Discipline Down And Calm Intuition Subtle Slow Down Restless Expanse

Book:Steve Jobs

Source: Steve Jobs

“People who know what they’re talking about don’t need PowerPoint.”

People Knows Inspirational Needs Talking Powerpoint

Book:Steve Jobs

Source: Steve Jobs

“Pretend to be completely in control and people will assume that you are.”

People Assuming

Book:Steve Jobs

Source: Steve Jobs

“You should never start a company with the goal of getting rich. Your goal should be making something you believe in and making a company that will last. Excerpt From: Walter, Isaacson. “Steve Jobs.” Simon & Schuster, 2011-10-23T21:00:00+00:00. iBooks. This material may be protected by copyright.”

Should Believe May Jobs Lasts Goal Company Rich Materials Protected Get Rich Copyright

Author:Walter Isaacson

“Jobs has within him sort of this conflict, but he doesn't quite see it as a conflict between being hippie-ish and anti-materialistic but wanting to sell things like Wozniak's board. Wanting to create a business.”

Jobs Conflict Sells Boards Hippie Materialistic

Author:Walter Isaacson

“Asked about the fact that Apple's iTunes software for Windows computers was extremely popular, Jobs joked, 'It's like giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell.”

Inspirational Giving Facts Motivational Jobs Water Hell Computer Window Entrepreneur Glasses Ice Apples Software Businessman Itunes Ice Water

Book:Steve Jobs

Source: Steve Jobs

“More generally, I made an effort to leave out things that weren't relevant to the main narrative themes of the book, namely that there were two sides to Steve Jobs: the romantic, poetic, countercultural rebel on one side, and the serious businessperson on the other.”

Made Two Book Jobs Sides Effort Serious Romantic Narrative Theme Poetic Rebel Relevant Romantic Love Two Sides

Author:Walter Isaacson

“I've always had an abundance of material about the subjects of my biographies.”

Subjects Materials Abundance Biographies My Biography

Author:Walter Isaacson

“But the point is to get a whole new generation of people and people in general more re-engaged in news, and this has happened a lot since September 11th of course.”

People Whole Courses Generations Happened News Engaged September September 11 New Generation September 11th

Author:Walter Isaacson

“And if you don't have your ears open, you're not going to be able to figure out what you should be doing.”

Ifs Should Able Figures Ears

Author:Walter Isaacson

“I don't think there was enough skepticism because I think most of us kind of believed that Saddam Hussein was building biological, chemical, and perhaps even, nuclear weapons.”

Thinking Kind Enough Building Weapons Nuclear Chemicals Nuclear Weapons Skepticism Saddam Hussein

Author:Walter Isaacson

“I think it is valuable and should be valued by its consumers. Charging for content forces discipline on journalists: they must produce things that people actually value.”

People Thinking Should Values Force Produce Discipline Valuable Consumers Journalist Charging

Author:Walter Isaacson

“I think it's very important to have a sense of balance in covering the war, but you don't have to be morally neutral about terrorism.”

Thinking Important War Balance Terrorism Covering

Author:Walter Isaacson

“I think it's really good that you have great competition among news networks, and for that matter all the networks in general. It's bringing more and more people in to watching the news.”

People Thinking Matter News Competition

Author:Walter Isaacson

“Did Alexander Graham Bell do any market research before he invented the telephone?”

Research Bells Telephones Market Research Scoffing Graham Bell

Book:Steve Jobs

Source: Steve Jobs

“In the age of the internet when everybody's a pundit, we're still gonna need somebody there to go talk to the colonels, to be on the ground in Baghdad and stuff and that's very expensive.”

Needs Stills Age Stuff Internet Expensive Baghdad Colonels Pundits

Author:Walter Isaacson

“I visited Jobs for the last time in his Palo Alto, Calif., home. He had moved to a downstairs bedroom because he was too weak to go up and down stairs. He was curled up in some pain, but his mind was still sharp and his humor vibrant”

Mind Stills Home Pain Jobs Lasts Weak Moved Bedroom Last Time Up And Down Stairs

Author:Walter Isaacson

“I think that Benjamin Franklin felt very strongly in foreign policy in this world, that you needed to at least show some humility, especially when you were strong.”

Thinking World Shows Strong Felt Policy This World Humility Needed Very Strong Foreign Policy Franklin

Author:Walter Isaacson

“I think that's exactly what Silicon Valley was all about in those days. Let's do a startup in our parents' garage and try to create a business.”

Thinking Trying Parent Valleys Garage Silicon Silicon Valley

Author:Walter Isaacson

“I think when you're looking for people to interview, you want to make it fair and honest. You're not just bringing people on so you can beat them up or, you know, make fools out of them or something”

People Thinking Knows Want Honest Fool Beats Fairs Interviews

Author:Walter Isaacson

“We have to compete in a universe of 200 networks, so we have to carve out our own niche, and to me, that niche is just basic shoe-leather journalism with some good journalists at the helm you can trust as presenters.”

Universe Shoes Journalism Journalist Leather Niche Helm Presenter

Author:Walter Isaacson

“Just being the seeker, somebody whose open to spiritual enlightenment, is in itself the important thing and it's the reward for being a seeker in this world.”

World Important Spiritual This World Enlightenment Important Things Rewards Just Being Seekers Spiritual Enlightenment

Author:Walter Isaacson

“One of the great pressures we're facing in journalism now is it's a lot cheaper to hire thumb suckers and pundits and have talk shows on the air than actually have bureaus and reporters”

Shows Air Pressure Journalism Reporters Thumbs Cheaper Sucker Talk Shows Pundits

Author:Walter Isaacson

“Let's crowd source, curate, and add royalties to books”

Book Source Add Crowds Royalty

Author:Walter Isaacson

“Vision w/o execution is just hallucination. You need the right combination of visionary + team that can execute”

Needs Vision Team Combination Execution Visionaries Hallucinations

Author:Walter Isaacson

“Most of the collaborations of technology were done by teams...Collaboration is key to creativity”

Done Creativity Technology Team Keys Collaboration Team Collaboration

Author:Walter Isaacson

“A theme of digital success is keeping it simple.”

Simple Theme Digital

Author:Walter Isaacson

“I hope that some day scientists can be considered heroes again, instead of Paris Hilton.”

Hero Scientist Paris

Author:Walter Isaacson

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.”

Source: Walter Isaacson Great Innovators e-book boxed set: Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin, Einstein

“It's about doing something larger than yourself. It's about serving this world, helping others.”

World Giving Helping This World Helping Others Serving Tuesday

Author:Walter Isaacson

“I think right now we need to look back at the founding values of our country. Rise above partisanship, be less bitter when it comes to important matters that have to be solved.”

Thinking Needs Looks Important Country Matter Values Right Now Bitter Our Country Founding Rise Above Partisans Partisanship

Author:Walter Isaacson

“If you truly have a passion for what you do, you will care even about the parts unseen.”

Ifs Care Passion Unseen Passion For What You Do

Author:Walter Isaacson

“Ed Woolard, his mentor on the Apple board, pressed Jobs for more than two years to drop the interim in front of his CEO title. Not only was Jobs refusing to commit himself, but he was baffling everyone by taking only $1 a year in pay and no stock options. I make 50 cents for showing up, he liked to joke, and the other 50 cents is based on performance.”

Years Two Jobs Pay Fronts Jokes Performances Commit Titles Boards Apples Two Years Cents Mentor Ceo Showing Up Interim Stock Options

Author:Walter Isaacson

“Jobs did not know that Sculley had told Eisenstat he wanted to quit, but by then it didn't matter. Overnight, he had changed his mind and decided to stay. Despite the blowup the day before, he was still eager for Jobs to like him. So he agreed to meet the next afternoon.”

Knows Mind Stills Matter Wanted Jobs Next Changed Decided Quitting Despite Afternoon

Book:Steve Jobs

Source: Steve Jobs

“For some people, miracles serve as evidence of God's existence.”

People Existence Evidence Miracle Evidence Of God

Book:American Sketches: Great Leaders, Creative Thinkers, and Heroes of a Hurricane

Source: American Sketches: Great Leaders, Creative Thinkers, and Heroes of a Hurricane

“I wonder now how tough you have to be to get big things done.”

Done Bigs Wonder Tough Big Things Things Done

Author:Walter Isaacson

“What Einstein was able to do was - to use a cliche - think out of the box.”

Thinking Use Able Boxes Cliche

Author:Walter Isaacson

“You know, one of these things that happened in the '60s and '70s was this confluence of, sort of, a counter-culture with computer culture.”

Knows Culture Happened Computer Confluence Counter Culture

Author:Walter Isaacson

About the Author

Born: May 20, 1952
Known for: Writer
Quotes: 145

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