On October 5th 2011, Steve Jobs died after many years of illness but true to form he was working on new developments for the iPod, iPad, iPhone and Macbooks until the last.
His quest to improve the world dates back to his ‘wilderness time’ when he was a hippie and university drop-out who experimented with alternative ways of living (in a commune with everything owned in common) and sought enlightenment from Eastern gurus. It was at that point that it had suddenly occurred to him that,
“……..maybe Thomas Edison did a lot more to improve the world than Karl Marx and Neem Kairolie Baba put together.”(Quoted in Michael Moritz’s The Little Kingdom)
The man who has changed communication and leisure in ways that would have been inconceivable twenty years ago, did not have the best start in life. His single mother had him adopted, so he was brought up by uneducated but loving parents who enjoyed only a modest income. At school he was troublesome although acknowledged as clever and innovative. The ‘square peg’ got bullied in his teens so his doting parents moved to another city then spent their life savings on his college education. However, he ‘dropped out’ anyway.
It was his father that fostered his early interest in electronics by buying him ‘Heathkits’ which allowed the young Steve to build simple machines. The resultant sense of accomplishment and confidence gained by making things that work developed his ‘can do’ attitude that characterised his attitude towards life and business. This coupled with self-discipline exemplified by periodic self-imposed ‘fasting’ created an individual who had vision and craved perfection.
What can we learn from Jobs life?
It’s all right to think differently but remain self- critical. Follow through with your ideas even if you are ridiculed or opposed. As well as this, don’t take ‘no’ for an answer or compromise on quality. Perfection can only be achieved through dedication to your craft.
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