How many times can a man rise, fall, and re-create
himself?
Steve Jobs – a humble genius with a simple
vision – affordable personal computers.
In his quest to realize his dream, he was
even fired from the very company he helped start.
For most, that would be rock bottom.
He re-invented himself, pursued new ambitions,
and discovered success in an entirely different field.
His swansong and crowning achievement?
To return back to Apple, the prodigal son,
and forge that company into the record-breaking,
innovative, trendsetting juggernaut that it
is today.
Steve Jobs is actually adopted.
His biological parents, Abdul Fattah al Jandali
and Joanne Schieble were both college students
in the USA, studying in Syria at the time
they got pregnant.
Joanne’s conservative family did not approve
of the pregnancy, and he was given up for
adoption when he was born on one condition
– that his adoptive pay for his college education.
Jobs always appeared bored at school as a
child, getting into plenty of trouble.
He would resist teachers, play pranks, and
cause general chaos – causing him to be
suspended a handful of times.
It wasn’t until the 4th grade that a teacher
saw through his disruptive behavior and glimpsed
a brilliant mind.
She would bribe him with small amounts of
cash for getting through additional workbooks,
and really challenged Jobs to excel and learn
at the fast pace he was clearable capable of.
This accelerated learning culminated in the
school considering allowing him to jump several
grades straight into Junior High – though
his parents wisely would not allow it.
He went straight into the 6th grade.
He was frequently bullied and was described
as a socially awkward loner.
His parents, distraught at seeing their son’s
failure to thrive and concerned he would drop
out of school, decided to move to a better
neighborhood – renowned for its high density
of engineering families and enrolled Steve
in a new school.
Homestead High would be where Jobs meets Bill
Fernandez, who would eventually become Apple’s
first employee – and who would introduce
him to co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Jobs was described as kind of a brain and
kind of a hippie – but not really fitting
into either group.
He was smart enough to be a nerd, but wasn’t
nerdy – but he was definitely too intellectual
for the hippies.
It was in high school that Wozniak designed
a digital device able to produce tones in
a specific sequence, allowing free long-distance
phone calls – dubbed the “blue box”.
Jobs began selling these and splitting the
profit with Wozniak.
This is a significant contributor to the birth
of Apple, as these “blue boxes” showed
the dynamic duo could take on big business.
Jobs applied to and enrolled in Reed College.
This was the only one he applied to and one
his parents could barely afford.
This would be one contributing factor to him
dropping out after just one semester – not
wanting to waste his parent’s hard-earned
money on what was, in his opinion, a meaningless
education.
He did still attend some classes - although
purely for his own interests as they weren't
graded.
During this time, he would sleep on the floor
of a friend’s dorm room, collect coke bottles
to trade in for cash, and eat any freely offered
meal – in order just to get by.
Jobs moved back in with his parents after
his failed attempt at college.
He was hired by gaming company Atari as a
technician, after Wozniak game him a self-designed
circuit board for a Pong knock off for him
to take to the interview.
He spent almost a year in India, searching
for spiritual enlightenment and experimenting
with other psychedelics – culminating with
Jobs becoming a Zen Buddhist.
The first Apple II logic board was built in
Job’s garage by him and Wozniak with the
proceeds from selling their VW minibus and
programmable calculator.
The now-famous company would be founded later
that same year.
They would continue to make and sell home
computers to hobbyists, culminating in the
development of the Apple Lisa – first computer
to use a mouse interface.
Despite being the visionary of the Apple Macintosh
home computer, slow sales and the inability
to compete with IBM led to a company restructure.
One without Steve Jobs.
He was eventually pushed out of the company
he had helped create.
Jobs then started NeXT – a company designing
powerful workstation computers for the education
market.
He also acquired the controlling share in
a small division of LucasFilm called Pixar
– which would go on to become the pioneer
in animated films.
Partnering with Disney, Pixar was responsible
for multiple critically acclaimed Box Office
hits including Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Finding
Nemo, The Incredibles, and Cars.
There wouldn’t be a child alive today who
has not seen at least one Disney Pixar movie.
Failing to develop a replacement for the Macintosh
operating system, Apple decided to buy Job’s
company NEXTSTEP for over $400 million dollars
– bringing him back into the team as a consultant.
He went on to perform brilliantly, forging
a working alliance with Microsoft, without
caving into using Windows to run Apple’s
computers.
Apple would still make its own hardware and
software.
He began molding Apple into what it is today,
with the introduction of iTunes, the creation
of the iPod, and revolutionizing how we listen
to music.
Apple went on to alter the telecommunications
industry forever with the release of the iPhone.
A mobile was not solely intended for phone
calls anymore – emails, internet browsing,
games, and many more functions were added
with subsequent generations and iOS updates.
Jobs was the visionary behind these never
before thought of concepts – setting trends
and precedents mimicked by many of his rivals
in the following years.
In 2003, Jobs was diagnosed with a rare form
of pancreatic cancer that is almost always
fatal.
Initially, Jobs pursued alternative treatments,
but when that didn't work, he relented and
underwent a liver transplant – returning
to spearhead the company once he was healthy
again.
In 2011 however, he took a leave of absence
due to failing health – sadly passing away
a few months later.
Unfortunately, only 20% of pancreatic cancer
patients survive the first 5 years of their
diagnosis.
[OUTRO]
After tasting financial and existential defeat
in his life multiple times, and despite failing
health, Steve Jobs never gave up – consistently
rising again from the ashes like a phoenix.
Even after his death, his company spirit lives
on – Apple was worth $200 billion in 2015,
fast forward to now, and has exponentially
grown to $1.4 trillion in 2020.
That’s a 700% growth in just 5 short years.
It was also the first publicly owned company
to exceed a value of a trillion dollars.
Since that record, only three other companies,
Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have also reached
this milestone.
He shaped how the world uses technology and
media, developing products adored by millions.
His work in computer technology, music, film,
cell phones, and innovative thinking for over
30 years is what he will be remembered for.
