How to say NO like Steve Jobs

Saying no is hard. It is especially hard when you want to say yes with all your heart.

How could saying a word with only two letters be so hard? As Sapiens we love to be loved. We don't like to reject or be rejected.

We compare ourselves to others who do more than us and we pressure ourselves to say yes. When we are not around to spend quality time with family and friends, we end up saying yes. When we are constantly bombarded that we could really do more by our social feeds, advertisements and more we push ourselves to say YES.

"Yes" is our default response because biologically we are driven by fear, guilt and survival. Adding NO to your toolkit is no small thing.

Steve Jobs excelled at saying no because  he perceived

• NO as a pathway to focus
• NO as a way of life.
• NO to many things = YES to most important things  
  
  “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.”
  – Steve Jobs

When you tune your mindset like Steve Jobs saying NO becomes a lot easier. You get to do spend your time and energy on things that truly matter to you.

🥂 to NO!