Not unlike the rest of the world I was saddened but not surprised to learn of Steve Jobs passing last night. I had just returned home, finished a call on my iphone, plugged in my ipad for charging, turned on my Macbook Pro and saw this picture on the Apple homepage when I turned my computer on.
Sad.
Truly a marketing genius.
A visionary in the realm of what’s possible and yet an unlikely hero.
Given up at birth.
College drop out.
He traveled to India to go ‘find himself.’
On several occasions he used psychedelic drugs.
He built a company and was then fired from the very company he built.
He was a loser just like me and you.
But his losing was our gain.
He legitimized starting a business in your home, even your garage, giving the green light for many a start up.
He helped us to see that those thin threads in life can make the difference. Studying calligraphy at one time in his life, fueled his desire for font options later on.
Who knows maybe even his self professed dabbling with LSD even had an effect.
Here’s what I do know.
Early on, on paper, he looked like just some other hippie loser with pie in the sky dreams.
But he stuck with his vision.
He believed his product(s) could make a difference.
He was the chief evangelist officer for his company and progress in his niche.
His legacy lives on in products yes.
But his real legacy to the rest of us losers, is that of overcoming adversity by taking action.
He is one amazing example of The Law of Influence. If you’ve read John C. Maxwell’s book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, you”ll be familiar with that law You see leaders influence others, but first they influence themselves to move, to take action, to use most of their experiences as a lesson in learning. That is what Steve Jobs seemed to do. Looking back its easier to see. But when you’re in the arena each day remember the lesson of one of the biggest losers yet influencers ever.
Loser? Join the club.
Influencer? Join that club too.
Who or what will you influence today?
Love this Deb. One of my favourite principles is everything is redeemable. Often though the connections are only obvious with hindsight – guess that’s why it takes faith to keep going. Thanks for this inspiring post.
Thanks Grace and yes everything and everyone is indeed redeemable!
Thanks Grace!
Happy Christmas to my UK friends!
Deb, this is incredibly inspiring. I had no idea of Steve Job’s background. Knowing that he built a company, then was fired from that company and yet continued to press on is amazing. I feel like I would crumple up. I love hearing stories of success like this because it makes me realize I can do it too!
Great title btw. I clicked on your link from Twitter because I wanted to know why you thought Steve was a loser. 🙂
It is amazing how his background at one point would not look very favorable for success, but it clearly wasn’t the end of his story. It was a pleasure to share this !
Thanks for the kudos on the title. You know it is amazing that we only remember the wins a person has but it is from the failures that at times our best discoveries come forth. (think pennicillin and moldy oranges, who would have thought….)
thanks!
I would also add that he found the intersection of his art and the needs of others. Everything else took care of itself.
Thanks Scott, you’re right, he found and stayed in his sweet spot later on in life!
Power statement there Scott, how did I miss it the first time?
Great stuff thanks!!!