Steve Jobs Archive releases ‘Letters to a Young Creator’ featuring Tim Cook, Jony Ive, and more

The Steve Jobs Archive has published a project online called Letters to a Young Creator. Timed with what would be the late Apple co-founder’s 71st birthday, the collection of notes includes submissions by Tim Cook, Jony Ive, and more.

Letters to a Young Creator is a collection of honest perspectives on what it takes to make something great, written by people who have done it before. 

The series features contributions from notable figures across business, design, technology, and the arts, written in response to questions posed by past and present SJA Fellows. The title is a nod to Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet—one of Steve’s favorites—and to Steve’s own practice of exchanging ideas as a path toward clarity.

Before now, these letters were only available in limited-release print editions distributed by the Steve Jobs Archive in 2024 and 2025. Now they’re available to read online.

Here’s an excerpt from Apple CEO Tim Cook’s submission to the project, dated August 20, 2024:

I’ll never forget that first conversation with Steve. At the time, Apple had been struggling and Steve was working to right a ship that had drifted in his absence. Many people doubted the company could survive, and I was warned that accepting a job there would come with risks. But when Steve spoke, any trepidation I harbored instantly dissolved. I had never met someone with so much passion and vision. He spoke with charisma and clarity—about a future where technology could unlock a wellspring of human creativity and potential, connecting us and uplifting us in ways even he had yet to imagine. To achieve it he would need a group of deeply curious individuals willing to work hard for something greater than themselves. I knew I had to be a part of it.

In Steve, I found an incredible mentor who inspired me to grow and challenge myself in new and important ways. And in joining Apple, I traded a job for a purpose, one that still drives me to this very day. It truly was the greatest decision I’ve ever made.

You can read Cook’s submission in full here, as well as Jony Ive’s letter, and more at letters.stevejobsarchive.com.