--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's better to be a pirate than to join…" description: "\"It's better to be a pirate than to join the navy.\" — Steve Jobs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/steve-jobs-307_inspirational_it-s-better-to-be-a-pirate-than-to-join_1480920.jpg" --- # It's better to be a pirate than to join the navy. ![“It's better to be a pirate than to join the navy.” quote by Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/steve-jobs-307_inspirational_it-s-better-to-be-a-pirate-than-to-join_1480920.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/steve-jobs-307_inspirational_it-s-better-to-be-a-pirate-than-to-join_1480920.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/steve-jobs-307_inspirational_it-s-better-to-be-a-pirate-than-to-join_1480920.jpg) > “It's better to be a pirate than to join the navy.” [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Question authority and think creatively; unconventional paths can lead to greater impact. **In simple terms:** Piracy symbolizes bold innovation. Key Takeaway Embrace unconventional thinking. Themes innovation rebellion creativity Mood inspirational provocative Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - startup pitches - creative workshops - career counseling Key Concepts disruption risk taking career choices Questions to Reflect On - When is breaking rules justified? - How to balance risk with responsibility? A Different Perspective Risk can lead to failure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Memorable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memorable/) [Navy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/navy/) [Pirate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pirate/) ## Related quotes > [It's more fun to be a pirate than to join the navy. On the importance of loving what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/it-s-more-fun-to-be-a-pirate-than-to-join-the-navy-on-the-importance/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It's more fun to be a pirate than to join the Navy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/it-s-more-fun-to-be-a-pirate-than-to-join-the-navy/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [I'd rather be a Pirate than join the Navy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-d-rather-be-a-pirate-than-join-the-navy/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Why join the navy if you can be a pirate?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/why-join-the-navy-if-you-can-be-a-pirate/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [I wanted to join the navy to get some perspective on the world and explore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcavoy/i-wanted-to-join-the-navy-to-get-some-perspective-on-the-world-and/) [James McAvoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcavoy/) > [So sucker MC's, please think twice; Would you join the navy if you didn't like the gravy and rice?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/special-ed/so-sucker-mc-s-please-think-twice-would-you-join-the-navy-if-you-didn/) [Special Ed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/special-ed/) > [I left Scotland when I was 16 because I had no qualifications for anything but to join the Navy, having left school at 13.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/i-left-scotland-when-i-was-16-because-i-had-no-qualifications-for/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [A captured pirate was brought before Alexander the Great. “How dare you molest the sea?” asked Alexander. “How dare you molest the whole world?”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/a-captured-pirate-was-brought-before-alexander-the-great-how-dare-you/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Being an entrepreneur is like being a pirate. Go for the booty and discover new, uncharted lands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/being-an-entrepreneur-is-like-being-a-pirate-go-for-the-booty-and/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [By the end of this decade, a majority of our Navy and Air Force fleets will be based out of the Pacific, because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/by-the-end-of-this-decade-a-majority-of-our-navy-and-air-force-fleets/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“What’s so amusing, wench?” came a gravel-throated voice from behind her, followed by a gentle swat across her sheet-covered backside. “Just plotting my mutiny,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/what-s-so-amusing-wench-came-a-gravel-throated-voice-from-behind-her/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [I don't think you see a pirate with a parrot on his shoulder, for example. And even with the accents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-stevenson/i-don-t-think-you-see-a-pirate-with-a-parrot-on-his-shoulder-for/) [Ray Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-stevenson/) > [--Hero!? Forget it! We're Pirates! I love heroes but I don't wanna become one! Do you even know what it takes to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiichiro-oda/hero-forget-it-we-re-pirates-i-love-heroes-but-i-don-t-wanna-become/) [Eiichiro Oda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiichiro-oda/) > [I grew up on the pirate radio scene which started out as drum 'n' bass music. U.K. garage picked up and got bigger on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dizzee-rascal/i-grew-up-on-the-pirate-radio-scene-which-started-out-as-drum-n-bass/) [Dizzee Rascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dizzee-rascal/) > [Right, and you point out something important which is that people who don’t want to pay, people who are pirates, don’t get bothered by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/right-and-you-point-out-something-important-which-is-that-people-who/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) ## More by Steve Jobs > [Who wants a stylus. You have to get em and put em away, and you lose em. Yuck. Nobody wants a stylus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/who-wants-a-stylus-you-have-to-get-em-and-put-em-away-and-you-lose-em/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [I admire Mark Zuckerberg... for not selling out, for wanting to make a company. I admire that a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-admire-mark-zuckerberg-for-not-selling-out-for-wanting-to-make-a/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [If you want to hire great people and have them stay, you have to be run by ideas, not hierarchy. The best ideas have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/if-you-want-to-hire-great-people-and-have-them-stay-you-have-to-be/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/everything-around-you-that-you-call-life-was-made-up-by-people-that/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It's about saying NO to all but the most crucial features.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/innovation-is-not-about-saying-yes-to-everything-it-s-about-saying-no/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-have-always-said-if-there-ever-came-a-day-when-i-could-no-longer/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/when-you-first-start-off-trying-to-solve-a-problem-the-first/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [I'm not dismissing the value of higher education; I'm simply saying it comes at the expense of experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-m-not-dismissing-the-value-of-higher-education-i-m-simply-saying-it/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“To YoYo Ma: "You playing is the best argument I've ever heard for the existence of God, because I don't really believe a human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/to-yoyo-ma-you-playing-is-the-best-argument-i-ve-ever-heard-for-the/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [The most important thing is a person. A person who incites your curiosity and feeds your curiosity; and machines cannot do that in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-most-important-thing-is-a-person-a-person-who-incites-your/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [The tragedy is that Dell didn't win it - we lost it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-tragedy-is-that-dell-didn-t-win-it-we-lost-it/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“I think great artists and great engineers are similar, in that they both have a desire to express themselves. In fact some of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-think-great-artists-and-great-engineers-are-similar-in-that-they/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It's rare that you see an artist in his 30s or 40s able to really contribute something amazing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/it-s-rare-that-you-see-an-artist-in-his-30s-or-40s-able-to-really/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [We're going to be able to ask our computers to monitor things for us, and when certain conditions happen, are triggered, the computers will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/we-re-going-to-be-able-to-ask-our-computers-to-monitor-things-for-us/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) [Explore all 695 Steve Jobs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) ## More Inspirational quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We talk to God--that is prayer; God talks to us--that is inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/we-talk-to-god-that-is-prayer-god-talks-to-us-that-is-inspiration/) [H. Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/) > [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just understand that the good that you want is already here. All you have to do is get in harmony with it. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/just-understand-that-the-good-that-you-want-is-already-here-all-you/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-want-to-build-a-ship-don-t-drum-up-the-men-to-gather-wood/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/) [Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/) > [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) [Browse all 114,561 Inspirational quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's better to be a pirate than to join the navy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steve Jobs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/it-s-better-to-be-a-pirate-than-to-join-the-navy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Inspirational" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/it-s-better-to-be-a-pirate-than-to-join-the-navy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/steve-jobs-307_inspirational_it-s-better-to-be-a-pirate-than-to-join_1480920.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/steve-jobs-307_inspirational_it-s-better-to-be-a-pirate-than-to-join_1480920.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/steve-jobs-307_inspirational_it-s-better-to-be-a-pirate-than-to-join_1480920.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's better to be a pirate than to join the navy.” — Steve Jobs", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Steve Jobs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's better to be a pirate...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/it-s-better-to-be-a-pirate-than-to-join-the-navy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/it-s-better-to-be-a-pirate-than-to-join-the-navy/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```