--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The lesson Jobs learned from his Buddhist…" description: "\"“The lesson Jobs learned from his Buddhist days was that material possessions often cluttered life rather than enriched it.”\" — Walter Isaacson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/walter-isaacson-384_buddhism_the-lesson-jobs-learned-from-his-buddhis_1240313.png" --- # The lesson Jobs learned from his Buddhist days was that… ![“The lesson Jobs learned from his Buddhist days was that material possessions often cluttered life rather than enriched it.” quote by Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/walter-isaacson-384_buddhism_the-lesson-jobs-learned-from-his-buddhis_1240313.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/walter-isaacson-384_buddhism_the-lesson-jobs-learned-from-his-buddhis_1240313.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/walter-isaacson-384_buddhism_the-lesson-jobs-learned-from-his-buddhis_1240313.png) > ““The lesson Jobs learned from his Buddhist days was that material possessions often cluttered life rather than enriched it.”” [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Jobs learned that material goods can distract from deeper fulfillment. **In simple terms:** Possessions can clutter life. Key Takeaway Prioritize experiences over things. Themes materialism mindfulness values Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - minimalist lifestyle - career focus - spiritual practice Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What truly enriches your life? - How can you declutter your mind? A Different Perspective Too much focus on simplicity may ignore practical needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Material possessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/material-possessions/) ## Related quotes > [“What all of these jobs taught me is that you have to be willing to tolerate some shit you don’t like—at least for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-amoruso/what-all-of-these-jobs-taught-me-is-that-you-have-to-be-willing-to/) [Sophia Amoruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-amoruso/) > [“Most notably, he was known for his willingness to share his blessings. “He was so generous that he sheltered and fed all his friends,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/most-notably-he-was-known-for-his-willingness-to-share-his-blessings/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [Genuine mental health would involve a balanced interplay of both modes of experience, a way of life in which one's identification with the ego…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/genuine-mental-health-would-involve-a-balanced-interplay-of-both/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [There is but one love of Jesus, as there is but one person in the poor - Jesus. We take vows of chastity to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/there-is-but-one-love-of-jesus-as-there-is-but-one-person-in-the-poor/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Men are not great or small because of their material possessions. They are great or small because of what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cash-penney/men-are-not-great-or-small-because-of-their-material-possessions-they/) [James Cash Penney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cash-penney/) > [“It’s often said that cleaning your house is like polishing yourself. I think that this is a golden rule. It isn’t just dust and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fumio-sasaki/it-s-often-said-that-cleaning-your-house-is-like-polishing-yourself-i/) [Fumio Sasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fumio-sasaki/) > [“The fundamentals will cause us all to stand and stare; our want for material possessions, our possession and passing on of heirlooms, our want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-pont/the-fundamentals-will-cause-us-all-to-stand-and-stare-our-want-for/) [Simon Pont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-pont/) > [The time will come when the Negro in the South will be accorded all the political rights which his ability, character, and material possessions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/the-time-will-come-when-the-negro-in-the-south-will-be-accorded-all/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [Material possessions, in themselves, are good. We would not survive for long without money, clothing and shelter. We must eat in order to stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/material-possessions-in-themselves-are-good-we-would-not-survive-for/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [When a little pleasure has flashed for a moment against the dark, I have made that jewel mine. I have hundreds of them ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myrtle-reed/when-a-little-pleasure-has-flashed-for-a-moment-against-the-dark-i/) [Myrtle Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myrtle-reed/) > [“If he so much as mentioned the absence of any trunks or material possessions that constituted things she could attend to, by God, she'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christi-caldwell/if-he-so-much-as-mentioned-the-absence-of-any-trunks-or-material/) [Christi Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christi-caldwell/) > [“Is it not rather ugly, one may ask? One collects material possessions not only for security, comfort or vanity, but for beauty as well.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/is-it-not-rather-ugly-one-may-ask-one-collects-material-possessions/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The gospel assures you that your value is not dependent on your looks or material possessions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-l-jack/the-gospel-assures-you-that-your-value-is-not-dependent-on-your-looks/) [Elaine L. Jack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-l-jack/) > [In sports teams, apart from talk of sporting prowess and the imparting of inspirational thought, an extraordinary amount of time is spent discussing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harsha-bhogle/in-sports-teams-apart-from-talk-of-sporting-prowess-and-the-imparting/) [Harsha Bhogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harsha-bhogle/) > [“If you aren't happy for what you already have then what makes you think you will be happy with more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maddy-malhotra/if-you-aren-t-happy-for-what-you-already-have-then-what-makes-you/) [Maddy Malhotra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maddy-malhotra/) ## More by Walter Isaacson > [“he never finished any of the works he began because, so sublime was his idea of art, he saw faults even in the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/he-never-finished-any-of-the-works-he-began-because-so-sublime-was/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [He had the attitude that he could do anything, and therefore so can you. He put his life in my hands. So that made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/he-had-the-attitude-that-he-could-do-anything-and-therefore-so-can/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/but-the-point-is-to-get-a-whole-new-generation-of-people-and-people/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“There was never a good knife made of bad steel ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/there-was-never-a-good-knife-made-of-bad-steel/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Jobs's intensity was also evident in his ability to focus. He would set priorities, aim his laser attention on them, and filter out distractions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/jobs-s-intensity-was-also-evident-in-his-ability-to-focus-he-would/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Atop the brochure McKenna put a maxim, often attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, that would become the defining precept of Jobs’s design philosophy: “Simplicity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/atop-the-brochure-mckenna-put-a-maxim-often-attributed-to-leonardo-da/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“The company began attracting influential new investors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-company-began-attracting-influential-new-investors/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“You have to remain critically vigilant.” Question every premise, challenge conventional wisdom, and never accept the truth of something merely because everyone else views…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/you-have-to-remain-critically-vigilant-question-every-premise/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“in 1996, bought NeXT, bringing Jobs back. BILL ATKINSON. Early Apple employee, developed graphics for the Macintosh. CHRISANN BRENNAN. Jobs’s girlfriend at Homestead High,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/in-1996-bought-next-bringing-jobs-back-bill-atkinson-early-apple/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“The last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-last-time-there-was-this-much-excitement-about-a-tablet-it-had/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/if-you-want-to-live-your-life-in-a-creative-way-as-an-artist-you-have/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“There was a key lesson for innovation: Understand which industries are symbiotic so that you can capitalize on how they will spur each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/there-was-a-key-lesson-for-innovation-understand-which-industries-are/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“CEO Gil Amelio stumbled. Ellison may have been baffled when Jobs insisted that he was not motivated by money, but it was partly true.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/ceo-gil-amelio-stumbled-ellison-may-have-been-baffled-when-jobs/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Once a year Jobs took his most valuable employees on a retreat, which he called " The Top 100." They were picked based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/once-a-year-jobs-took-his-most-valuable-employees-on-a-retreat-which/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“An object will display the greatest difference of light and shade when it is seen in the strongest light. . . . But this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/an-object-will-display-the-greatest-difference-of-light-and-shade/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) [Explore all 593 Walter Isaacson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) ## More Buddhism quotes > [There are places that are very draining. There are places where there is another dimensional crossover but to a dimension that is not powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-places-that-are-very-draining-there-are-places-where-there/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Enlightenment is lightening up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-myers/enlightenment-is-lightening-up/) [Mike Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-myers/) > [The very best players, when they are practicing, put everything they've got into it. But then they leave it for a while. And it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/the-very-best-players-when-they-are-practicing-put-everything-they-ve/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I think the most miraculous thing is learning. I get out of the way and let the students learn. Then you get to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-think-the-most-miraculous-thing-is-learning-i-get-out-of-the-way/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mom and my aunties are really devout Christians. My mom married a Muslim when I was 12, so I got teachings from both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tech-n9ne/my-mom-and-my-aunties-are-really-devout-christians-my-mom-married-a/) [Tech N9ne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tech-n9ne/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“The extraction of discrete parts of Chöd teachings from their broader philosophical contexts is symptomatic of how Chöd has been incorporated into and transmitted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-sorensen/the-extraction-of-discrete-parts-of-ch-d-teachings-from-their-broader/) [Michelle Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-sorensen/) > [Buddhism advises you not to implant feelings that you don’t really have or avoid feelings that you do have. If you are miserable you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/buddhism-advises-you-not-to-implant-feelings-that-you-don-t-really/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“That's all there is, enlightenment on the end of a cock. It doesn't get any more Zen than that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaden-wilkes/that-s-all-there-is-enlightenment-on-the-end-of-a-cock-it-doesn-t-get/) [Jaden Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaden-wilkes/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) [Browse all 6,100 Buddhism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The lesson Jobs learned from his Buddhist days was that material possessions often cluttered life rather than enriched it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walter Isaacson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-lesson-jobs-learned-from-his-buddhist-days-was-that-material/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Buddhism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-lesson-jobs-learned-from-his-buddhist-days-was-that-material/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/walter-isaacson-384_buddhism_the-lesson-jobs-learned-from-his-buddhis_1240313.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/walter-isaacson-384_buddhism_the-lesson-jobs-learned-from-his-buddhis_1240313.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/walter-isaacson-384_buddhism_the-lesson-jobs-learned-from-his-buddhis_1240313.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The lesson Jobs learned from his Buddhist days was that material possessions often cluttered life rather…” — Walter Isaacson", "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": "Walter Isaacson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The lesson Jobs learned from his...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-lesson-jobs-learned-from-his-buddhist-days-was-that-material/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-lesson-jobs-learned-from-his-buddhist-days-was-that-material/#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 } } ] } ```