Shadowing Practice: Steve Jobs on Starting A Business - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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There needs to be someone who is sort of the keeper and reiterator of the vision.
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There needs to be someone who is sort of the keeper and reiterator of the vision.
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Because there's just a ton of work to do.
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And a lot of times,
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you know, when you have to walk a thousand miles and you take the first step,
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it looks like a long ways.
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And it really helps if there's someone there saying,
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well, we're one step closer.
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You know, the goal definitely exists.
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It's not just a mirage out there.
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So in a thousand and one little and sometimes larger ways,
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the vision needs to be reiterated.
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I do that a lot.
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Boy, I've forgotten how much work it actually is to start a company.
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It's a lot of work.
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And you've got to do everything.
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You've got to come up with a name.
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You've got to come up with a logo.
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I mean, in addition to designing the product,
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you've got to figure out what to design.
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You've got to figure out how you're going to get it to the marketplace.
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You've got to do a part number system.
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You've got to go get bank accounts.
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You've got to set up charts,
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general ledgers, get a management information system,
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get a little kitchen set up,
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get a coffee maker, all this stuff.
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Well, my first saying is that the honeymoon is over.
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All of those wonderful things that we got for just being are now sort of just old news.
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We are like every other startup.
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We've been a company now for six months.
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And yes, you could say that,
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well, we had a lawsuit for four of those months and we had this and that.
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But the bottom line is the world doesn't really care.
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What the world cares about is what we produce.
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We've been a startup for six months.
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We've been spending money like we've been a startup for six months.
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And in some areas, we've really produced a lot.
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We've got a lot to show for six months in some areas.
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In other areas, we don't have a lot to show for six months.
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So I hope that throughout this retreat,
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we tend to make sure that our feet are on the ground
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and we realize that we're going to be judged like every other startup from here on out,
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and that is by what our product is and how timely we bring it to market.
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and getting a consensus on a common vision.
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We wanted people that were insanely great at what they did,
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but were not necessarily those seasoned professionals,
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but who had at the tips of their fingers and in their passion
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the latest understanding of where technology was and what we could do with that technology,
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and who wanted to bring that to lots of people.
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So the neatest thing that happens is when you get a core group of,
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you know, 10 great people,
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that it becomes self-policing as to who they let into that group.
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So I consider the most important job of someone like myself is recruiting.
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One of the things I've always found is that
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you've got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology.
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You can't start with the technology and try to figure out where you're going to try to sell it.
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And I've made this mistake probably more than anybody else in this room.
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And I've got the scar tissue to prove it.
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and I know that it's the case and as we have tried to
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come up with a strategy and a vision for Apple
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um.. it started with what incredible benefits can we give to the customer?
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Where can we take the customer? not
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not starting with let's sit down with the engineers
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and figure out what awesome technology we have and then how are we going to market that.
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And I think that's the right path to take.
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You've got to find what you love,
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and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers.
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Your work is going to fill a large part of your life,
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and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.
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And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.
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If you haven't found it yet,
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keep looking and don't settle.
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As with all matters of the heart,
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you'll know when you find it.
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And like any great relationship,
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it just gets better and better as the years roll on.
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So keep looking.
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Don't settle.
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Did you ever want to give up?
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Did you ever think of giving up?
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Oh, there were moments where it was pretty tough.
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There have been moments, but no, I don't think so.
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I don't think so.
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The first year or two was the hardest.
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And there was no personal computer in 1975.
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It's very hard to believe.
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Well, that's why we made one.
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We made one because we wanted one and there wasn't one,
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so we had to make one.
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Did you know that when you made the personal computer,
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though, that this would become a major industry?
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I mean, did you know like this?
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No, no. It took about a year before we started to sense it.
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I had a partner named Steve Wozniak, who's a brilliant guy.
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And he did most of the engineering on the original Apple I and the Apple II.
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And after about a year,
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we just made it for ourselves.
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And we showed it to our friends and they all wanted one.
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And so we were busy making these computers by hand for our friends.
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And it was taking all of our life,
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all of our spare time and
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so we decided we better manufacture a hundred of these to get you know
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so that we can not have to spend the rest of our lives making them for our friends
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and that's how we got into this we didn't think about
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starting a company we were just doing it for ourselves
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and then our friends and then the circle got bigger
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and bigger and bigger now there's 25 million people
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so you were having fun oh yeah we've always had fun doing this
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so many young people are aspiring to become you know startup venture you know venture companies
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and right emulate something like Apple for themselves
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and sometimes people come to me and say I want to start a company
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and I say why is all I want to make lots
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of money I said forget it that's not a good enough reason most people
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that have started companies
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because they want to make lots of money I haven't seen very many of those succeed the ones
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that succeed are people
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that come sometimes they don't want to start a company they just have an idea
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that they want to get out expressed out into the world
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and oftentimes they have to start a company
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because nobody else will listen to them the company of 10,000
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people how do you permeate the message throughout all the employees
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what do you say to them well you permeate it by example ultimately
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and in other words when something's not quite good enough do you stop
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and make it better or do you just ship it you You know,
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and everybody watches to see how the senior management makes those decisions.
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And what we've tried to do is stop and make it great before we ship it.
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When we have problems, stop and fix them.
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And by example, you can say anything you want,
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but everybody watches very carefully when you're in a difficult situation what decisions you make,
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what values you have.
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They would like to know how you do it.
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And, you know, it's probably not easy to do.
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Yeah, you know, we try to hire really smart people,
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but we have a very simple organization,
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and we try to focus and do very few things well.
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And focusing's hard, because focusing doesn't mean saying yes,
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it means saying no. So we decide not to do a lot of things,
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so we can focus on a few handfuls of things and do them well.
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And I think, you know,
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everybody working at a company wants to do something great.
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They want to be excited about what they're working on.
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And they want to be recognized for it if they do a really great job.
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So we just try to allow people to do the best work of their lives at Apple
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and get it out to 25 million customers that we have
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and that's very exciting and when you're working on something
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and you know
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if this works out up to 25 million people are going to use this it's very motivating
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and it's not just 25 million of our customers
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but other companies tend to follow us you know it takes them a few years
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but other companies tend to copy what we do if it works and and so we can influence the whole industry.
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How do you see yourself 10 years from now?
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You know, my headlights are not that good.
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I don't know.
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I don't really think about it.
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I think about a year,
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two, three down the road.
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We have some projects at Apple that are sort of maybe four years down the road,
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five years, probably like three or four at the most,
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because things change too much.
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You can be going down a path.
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You say, well, in five years,
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I want to be here.
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But then something new happens,
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and you just say, forget that.
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I want to be over there.
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So, most of this five-year planning that I've seen in my life,
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some of it's essential, but most of it changes too quickly.
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So we tend to look three,
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four years, it's about as far ahead as we can see.
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So you can kick yourself in the butt,
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but I guess now's the time to change.
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One of the things I don't see is,
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I don't see it myself,
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I don't see it in enough of the rest of us,
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is I don't see that startup hustle.
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In other words, if we zoom out at the big picture,
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it would be a shame to have lost the war because we've won a few battles.
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And I sort of feel like I and some of the rest of us are concentrating too much on the smaller battles.
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And we're not keeping the war in perspective.
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And the war is called survival.
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The war is called not run out of money until we get our product on the market.
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Some insights and some fundamentally different experiences,
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which I thought might be very beneficial to their lives because of this germ of an idea a few years ago.
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And that's an incredible feeling,
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to know that you had something to do with it,
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A, and B, to know it can be done,
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to know that you can plant something in the world and it'll grow and change the world ever so slightly.
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Whether Next can be a viable business is something only time will tell.
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But Steve Jobs' passionate commitment to his vision is clear,
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and his certainty that it can be achieved and is worth achieving is a conviction to be observed in all successful entrepreneurs.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will dive into the entrepreneurial insights of Steve Jobs, focusing on the realities of starting a business. Through this content, you will practice listening comprehension and speaking skills. By engaging with the material, you'll learn to articulate the challenges and efforts involved in entrepreneurship. By utilizing the shadowspeak technique, you will improve English pronunciation while gaining valuable vocabulary related to business and innovation.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Keeper of the vision - A person who maintains and communicates the core mission and objectives of a project or startup.
- Take the first step - Initiating action towards a goal.
- Mirage - An illusion; something that appears real but isn't, often used metaphorically in business contexts.
- General ledger - A complete record of financial transactions over the life of a company.
- Insanely great - A phrase used to describe products or services that are remarkably impressive and innovative.
- Time to market - The period required to develop a product and launch it to the market.
- Core group - The main team or individuals central to achieving the goals of a project.
Practice Tips
When practicing with the transcript, utilize the shadowing technique by repeating phrases immediately after hearing them. This approach is excellent for improving English pronunciation and fluidity in speaking. Pay attention to the rhythm and tone of Steve Jobs' speech, which often combines enthusiasm with a sense of urgency. As you shadow, focus on clear articulation of key phrases, especially those that resonate with the entrepreneurial spirit. Aim to match his pace; his delivery varies from quick to thoughtful pauses, giving you a good opportunity to practice both speed and clarity. Listen multiple times to different segments of the video, allowing yourself to absorb the vocabulary and concepts thoroughly. Remember, shadowspeaks will help you internalize natural speaking patterns, so don't rush—take your time to embody the message and energy conveyed in the speech.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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