Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, was born on February 24th, 1955 in San Francisco California, USA.His father Abdel Fattah John was a teacher, businessman, and political scientist. His mother was Joanne Carol Sheba.
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Steve jobs Education:
He was adopted by Paul Reinhold and Clara Jobs in 1961. Paul Reinhold was a carpenter and mechanic by profession. On the other hand, Clara Jobs was an accountant.
By the time when he was 10, he developed a keen interest in electronics. In his neighborhood there lived many engineers and he, very easily, befriended them with his charming personality.
His classmates saw him as a loner and as a result, he had difficulty making friends with the children of his own age.
Though Jobs was an innovative and intelligent mind, formal schooling always made him frustrated. Hence, to escape monotony and boredom, he became a prankster in the elementary school. Moreover, his fourth-grade teachers used to offer him bribe to make progress in his studies further. In time, his parents received a proposal from the administrators of the school who wanted to skip him ahead to high school but they declined the proposal.
Steve Jobs’s Quotes:
His life is a lesson for many of us. His wisdom was unfathomable and his quotes are life-changing. so before knowing his life`s story further, let’s take a look at his quotes which cast positive vibes:
“SOMETIMES LIFE’S GOING TO HIT YOU IN THE HEAD WITH A BRICK. DON’T LOSE FAITH. I’M CONVINCED THAT THE ONLY THING THAT KEPT ME GOING WAS THAT I LOVED WHAT I DID”
“EVERYTHING AROUND YOU THAT YOU CALL LIFE WAS MADE UP BY PEOPLE THAT WERE NO SMARTER THAN YOU. AND YOU CAN CHANGE IT, YOU CAN INFLUENCE IT…..ONCE YOU CAN LEARN THAT YOU’LL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN”
“YOUR TIME IS LIMITED, SO DON’T WASTE IT LIVING SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE”
“DON’T LET THE NOISE OF OTHERS ‘ OPINIONS DROWN OUT YOUR OWN INNER VOICE”
“YOU HAVE TO BE BURNING WITH AN IDEA, OR A WRONG THAT YOU WANT TO RIGHT. IF YOU’RE NOT PASSIONATE ENOUGH FROM THE START, YOU’LL NEVER STICK IT OUT”
“PASSION AND PERSISTENCE ARE WHAT SEPARATE SUCCESSFUL FROM FAILURES”
“YOUR WORK IS GOING TO FILL A LARGE PART OF YOUR LIFE, AND THE ONLY WAY TO BE TRULY SATISFIED IS TO DO WHAT YOU BELIEVE IS GREAT WORK”
“THE ONLY WAY TO DO GREAT WORK IS TO LOVE WHAT YOU DO. IF YOU HAVEN’T FOUND IT YET, KEEP LOOKING, DON’T SETTLE.”
“PEOPLE, WHO ARE CRAZY ENOUGH TO THINK THAT THEY CAN CHANGE THE WORLD, ARE THE ONES WHO DO.”
“YOU CAN’T CONNECT THE DOTS LOOKING FORWARD; YOU CAN ONLY CONNECT THEM LOOKING BACKWARDS. SO YOU HAVE TO TRUST THE DOTS, THEY WILL SOMEHOW CONNECT IN YOUR FUTURE.”
“STAY HUNGRY STAY FOOLISH”
“IF YOU LIVE EACH DAY AS IF IT WAS YOUR LAST, SOMEDAY YOU’LL MOST CERTAINLY BE RIGHT”
“IF TODAY WAS THE LAST DAY OF YOUR LIFE, WOULD YOU WANT TO DO WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO DO? IF NO, YOU NEED TO CHANGE SOMETHING”
“REMEMBERING THAT YOU WILL BE DEAD SOON IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL YOU CAN EVER USE TO MAKE BIG CHOICES IN LIFE”
“HAVE THE COURAGE TO FOLLOW YOUR HEART AND INTUITION. THEY SOMEHOW ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOU TRULY WANT TO BECOME. EVERYTHING ELSE IS SECONDARY”
“REMEMBERING THAT YOU ARE GOING TO DIE IS THE BEST WAY I KNOW TO AVOID THE TRAP OF THINKING YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO LOSE”
“YOU ARE ALREADY NAKED. THERE IS NO REASON TO FOLLOW YOUR HEART”
“WE’RE HERE TO PUT A DENT IN THE UNIVERSE. OTHERWISE WHY ELSE EVEN BE HERE”
Steve jobs books:
Like his quotes, his suggestion for the books contains ample value. He suggested that everyone should read the following books once in his life for the better understanding of spiritual and material world around him:
- 1984 by George Orwell
- Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
- Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
- Be Here Now by Baba Ram Das
- Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism by Chogyam Trungpa
- Diet for a small planet by Frances Moore Lappe
- Inside the Tornado by Geoffrey A.Moore
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
- Only the Paranoid survive by Andew S.Grove
- The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen
- The Tao of programming by Geoffrey James
- Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
Steve Jobs’ Youth:
His parents who adopted him were not affluent but they tried heart and soul to offer their son quality education. Hence, in 1967 they used all their savings to buy a new home which would allow him to change schools. The new location of the Los Altos home made it possible for him to attend nearby Homestead High School which had strong nexus with Silicon Valley.
In late 1968 he began his first year there. He met Bill Fernandez there and music attracted him there more than anything else. In time, he made music one of his hobbies and was completely drowned in it.
After passing his high school in 1972 he enrolled at the Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Reed was an expensive college and Paul and Clara had already spent much of their savings for their son’s higher education and could not afford it anymore. This made him directionless and finally, he dropped out of the college (only after 6 months)
First Professional move and trip to India:
After dropping out of the Reed College in Portland, he spent next 18 months in learning topography and calligraphy courses. Again, he could not progress further. His first move professionally was that of technician at Atari Incorporated in Los Gatos California in 1973.
By early 1974 he felt that he was suffering from spiritual crisis. As a consequence, he felt the need of spiritual enlightenment. One of his friends had been to India and he was urging him to go there to end the crisis he was facing.
Finally, he traveled to India and reached the foothills of Himalaya after days of journeying by train and bus.
There he was supposed to meet Neem Karoli Baba but by the time Jobs reached there the spiritual guru had passed away.
Despite the drawback, he still spent 7 months in India in search of his spirituality in its various forms.
Jobs summarized his experience about his trip to India in his own words,” The people in the Indian countryside don’t use their intellect like we do, they use their intuition and their intuition is more developed than the rest of the world. Intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect, in my opinion. That’s had a big impact on my work. ”
Memorable Incidents and achievements:
Along with Wozniak, he established the Apple Computer Company. In the first place, the company aimed at selling circuit boards. In the same year, Wozniak invented the Apple-like computer.
Jobs had fallen in love with Cris Anne Brennan. The couple was blessed with a girl child Lisa Brennan Jobs in the year 1978. Steve was 23 years old then. Initially he denied paternity but later he acknowledged Lisa as his children.
In 1985 he resigned from his own founded company because he cherished different opinions from the Company’s CEO John Sculley. In the same year, he set up Next Incorporated.
The company became popular for its technical strengths, especially for its object-oriented software development system. In 1986 he purchased the Graphics Group from Lucas Films computer graphics division. Toy Story was the first animated film which was released after the acquirement.
At the age of 36, he married Laurine Powell on March 18, 1991. The couple had 3 children. In 1996 Apple acquired Next Incorporated and he returned to his own co-founded company. In 1998 they introduced Apple: Mac to the world. He became the permanent CEO of Apple adopting the title, ICEO.
The Company entered into the world of music with the introduction of iPod, iTunes digital music software, and iTunes store in 2001.
In 2005 Disney purchased Pixar and he became the largest shareholder of Walt Disney company with approximately 7% of the company’s stock.
In 2007 he began cellular phone business and launched iPhone in the market.
In 2008 iPhone 3g was released. In 2010 he introduced iPhone 4 and in 2011 iPhone 4s was released
He resigned as the CEO of Apple in the same year but continued to serve as the chairperson of the Company’s board.
Steve jobs’ Achievements: In 2007 he was enlisted into the California Hall of Fame.
In the same year Fortune Magazine announced him as the most powerful person in business and in 2009 the same magazine named him the CEO of the decade. In the following year, he ranked at No.17 in Forbes list of the world`s most powerful people. In 2010 Financial Magazine named him the person of the year.
Steve Jobs’ Death:
Back in the year 2003, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and ultimately, he died on October 5, 2011, in Palo Alto, California, USA, at the age of 56.