Tim Cook once said he felt "rudderless" while searching for his life's purpose, a personal gap he said remained unresolved until he met Steve Jobs and joined Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), where he came to believe that work should serve humanity.
Cook Says Purpose Is Found In Service
In a 2018 interview with MSNBC's Chris Hayes and Recode's Kara Swisher, the Apple CEO was asked what advice he would give his younger self. "I would tell myself that the joy is in the journey," Cook said at Chicago's Lane Technical College Prep High School. "The truth is we all have the same purpose. And, we should all quit looking."
"Our purpose is to serve humanity," Cook said, adding that he learned that lesson from Jobs.
"I went through a period of time that I was rudderless, where I thought I should be looking for my purpose." Cook said he "looked under every sheet, behind every door, and everywhere,” but “couldn't find it.”
“I thought, ‘Oh my God, there's something wrong with me. I can't find it,'" he claimed.
Jobs Helped Cook Find His Direction
Cook said his thinking changed after he met Jobs and joined Apple in 1998. He said he had "found a company that believed … its job was to serve humanity."
During the interview, Cook urged students to ask themselves, "What will be my gift?" every day. "Most of your gifts will never be money," he said. "They will be a gift of yourself and your passion — your way of changing the world, improving the world for other people."
At the University of Glasgow in 2017, the Apple chief had delivered similar advice, urging students to find the intersection between work they are passionate about and work that serves other people.
Apple Prepares For Post-Cook Era
Cook's decision to join Apple became a defining turn in his career. Taking on the mantle of CEO from Jobs in August 2011, Cook credited his predecessor and long time close friend, mentor for teaching him to quickly rethink decisions when new facts emerged, a skill Cook later called "brilliant."
Jobs also prepared Cook to lead Apple with independent judgment, seeking a smoother succession than the crisis-driven transitions Apple had seen before.
Apple announced April 20 that Cook will step down as CEO on Sept. 1, 2026, and become executive chairman. John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, will take over as CEO, marking Apple's first major leadership change since 2011 and shifting attention toward hardware innovation in the AI era.
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