Jobs’s removal from Apple followed the commercial disappointment of the Macintosh and escalating conflict with CEO John Sculley. After a failed attempt to regain control, he founded NeXT with former Apple employees and pursued an uncompromising vision centered on design, powerful technology, and intellectual debate. That perfectionism produced an elegant but expensive computer, while his resistance to market realities, practical compromises, and profitable opportunities pushed NeXT toward bankruptcy. During this difficult period, Jobs’s investments in NeXT and Pixar nearly exhausted his fortune, until Pixar’s success with Toy Story restored his financial security. Failure also changed his leadership: family life, Pixar, and years of setbacks taught him to delegate, trust talented people, accept collaboration, and balance conviction with pragmatism. NeXT’s software eventually became the foundation of Apple’s modern operating system, enabling his return as the company faced near-collapse. Back at Apple, Jobs simplified its product strategy, empowered strong executives, and combined demanding standards with greater empathy and openness. His rivalry and cooperation with Bill Gates further demonstrated his evolution. The episode concludes that meaningful success depends not only on achievement, but also on resilience, relationships, purposeful work, and the ability to learn from failure.