My fascination with Steve Jobs stems from his business and work philosophy that guided his activities, especially on his return to Apple. His work ethics were undoubtedly formed over many years of business experience, but were made known to many outside Apple in his later years when he was interviewed by a few reporters over time.

“By all accounts, he played by his own rules,” according to a CNN report.

But it’s not the rebellious nature that seemed to drive Steve Jobs that I find fascinating, but rather his single minded commitment to his goals.

When he was working on a particular project, he would concentrate all his energy, all his thoughts on the task at hand, and exclude anything that was not essential.

'Focus and simplicity'

I find this statement made by Steve Jobs and so necessary for success in business.

Perhaps most people that are serious about success in their online business activities eventually come to the realization that they are being smothered by information overload. We all commit to ignore the avalanche of emails that come our way, but few people seem to be able to succeed in this goal.

“Focus and simplicity.” What a beautiful, clear philosophy to guide your business activities.

It is easier said than done. I believe most people would agree that they need to simplify their work and their lives, at all levels. Think of the peace of mind you could achieve by living a simple, uncomplicated life.

Yet an uncomplicated life and work would probably be so much more profitable. The reason is that you would avoid the waste that sneaks into your projects without you being aware of them.

It takes time, effort and courage to discard so many good ideas we have or we pick up from others. I wonder just how much time and resources we waste chasing after something we should never have started in the first place.

Just imagine what we could do with our online projects, if we made the effort necessary to think clearly and eliminate all waste from our projects. You can easily see in your mind how smooth our projects would move to completion, and how successful the implementation would be.

How inspiring for the Stanford graduating class of 2005 that heard Steve Jobs say:

"Stay hungry. Stay foolish."

These are some basic working principles at the heart of Steve Jobs secrets of his success.

It would be a challenge to try and operate your online business following Steve Jobs work ethic, which was at the core of his success.

But I for one will do my best to streamline my online projects so I can eliminate wasted motions.