"Innovation distinguishes between a Leader and a Follower"- Steve Jobs
An Extraordinary yet Unordinary Path:
Jobs grew up with his adopted parents Paul and Clara Jobs, who instilled the values of hard work and personal responsibility. Equipped with mechanical aptitude and true grit, he was brave enough as one example, to call Bill Hewlett, one of the founders of Hewlett-Packard to ask for parts he needed for one of his many projects. Unafraid and filled with determination to make one of his projects a success, he showed no fear or intimidation, rather only a focus for taking ideas and making them extraordinary.
While making an attempt to follow what some may view as an ordinary path by pursuing a college education, Jobs did not find that one path that he wanted to pursue. In the book I am John Galt , by Luskin and Greta, "Jack Dudman, Reed College's dean of students stated, " You wouldn't get away with bland statements . Steve refused to accept automatically received truths. He wanted to examine everything himself." And with that he left college off on his own mission to fulfill the goals of his internal vision, perhaps not the ordinary path, but definitely an extraordinary one.
From the Associated Press, Steve Jobs: A Look at the Visionary Innovator (Timeline)
Steve Jobs: An Inspiration for All
Jobs delivered the Commencement Speech at Stanford in 2005 where he tells three inspiring stories of his life with some profound lessons.
1. Connecting the Dots - "you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."
2. Love and Loss - "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. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle."
3. Death - "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
The speech may be heard: Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005
While Steve Jobs has moved on, his contributions, and innovation is a testimony and inspiration to be celebrated.
Sandy Williams - Sandy is the founder of Strategic Marketing Innovators, a full service strategic marketing firm. Her twelve year corporate marketing ...
Join the Conversation