Cook’s “objective in life is to work for some higher purpose,” he tells Kahn.

It’s more important to be excellent at a limited number of tasks than it is to be mediocre at a slew of them, according to Cook.

Apple is “all about doing just a few things, but the few things that we do, we want to make the very best in the world. Because we believe those make a much larger difference in the world than if we were to focus on just making the most,” Cook says.

Once you have identified and decided upon your North Star, or your personal guiding principal, “Keep your eye on your North Star, and keep moving,” he advises.

The “worst thing to do would be to fail and quit. Failure is just temporary, but quitting lasts forever.”

So excited! My interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook published here:

Kahn says she has loved technology since she was young and fondly remembers going with her father to the Apple store in Charleston, South Carolina, where she still lives, to learn about new products. She started coding in lower school and reached out to Cook because her computer class homework was to interview a “person of interest” in technology.

“As soon as the assignment was announced, one name immediately came to mind: Apple CEO Tim Cook,” writes Kahn. “He is not just in charge of the world’s largest tech company, but he personally advocates and stands up for things he believes are right. He travels the world and meets with political and innovative leaders.

“What was the likelihood of him even responding to me?”

Khan was surprised when Cook emailed her back and was nervous to talk to the Apple executive. He was charming though, she says. “Call me Tim — Mr. Cook is my father’s name,” Cook told to Khan.