They say that man is not given to change the world. No matter how hard you try, everything will remain in place. They say that even if someone changed the world, he had the means, money, connections for this - and somehow by itself, like even from birth, not like we have with you. They say …
They say a lot! On February 24, 1955, Steve Jobs, the future founder of Apple and Pixar, was born, a man who became known to the whole world. But initially, he had nothing behind his soul, except for a desperate thirst to break into the future and lead the world there after him.
STORMY YOUTH
How well he did it is a moot point. But the fact that he succeeded in principle - no one denies …
Childhood and adolescence of Stephen Paul Jobs were not in the most simple environment. His biological parents were poor unmarried students and decided to abandon their son. The boy was adopted by an ordinary American family - auto mechanic Paul Jobs and accountant Clara Jobs.
From an early age, Steve was distinguished by a sharp mind and a rebellious character - such an explosive mixture often made foster parents clutch their heads. The family moved so that the son could go to the school that he liked, saving money for an expensive college, which was safely abandoned after the first semester. Parents endured Steve's experiments with LSD, unexpected hobbies in Hinduism, vegetarianism, running away from home with an unknown girl and subsequent life in a hut in the mountains … However, it cannot be said that young Jobs did nothing but hang around his parents' neck, forcing them to turn gray earlier term. His talent allowed him, at the age of thirteen, to get a job at Hewlett-Packard - one of the largest companies in the information technology field. At fifteen he buys his own car. At sixteen, he opens the first semi-clandestine business for the assembly and sale of so-called "blue boxes" - devices that allow you to break phone codes and make free calls around the world. The illegal invention, of course, did not bring Steve a fortune and was quickly withdrawn from sales, but despite a severe reprimand from the police, he was not going to stop there.
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DO NOT HAVE A HUNDRED RUBLES
Perhaps the most powerful talent of Steve Jobs is the ability to make friends. It is to start, in every sense of the word - to captivate, persuade, using all your mind and charm, to lead. One “fuse” was often enough to create amazing things, even if difficulties arose later.
One of Jobs's first friends was Stephen Wozniak, an electronics genius. Jobs himself was well versed in the "stuffing" of computers, but before Wozniak he was like heaven. Together they founded the famous Apple company in 1976 - and if Jobs was mainly involved in supplying resources and promoting products, Wozniak was behind the creation of the Apple I and Apple II machines themselves. In fact, the Jobs-Wozniak duo created a real revolution in the field of personal computers of that time: the Apple II in all respects was not just a cut - a mountain higher than competitors, and the low price allowed it to be purchased in almost every home.
In 1983, Jobs befriends John Scully, president of the world famous Pepsi-Cola. Scully was invited to the presidency of Apple and hesitated for a long time whether it was worth changing an already super-profitable job. But Jobs was able to convince him with one sharp provocative question: "Do you want to sell sweetened water for the rest of your days, or do you decide to try to change the world?" Thanks to the marketing policy of John Scully, Apple's profits have grown exponentially.
Finally, in 1998, Jonathan Ive, an artist and designer who developed Apple's signature futuristic designs for the MacBook, iPod, iPhone and iPad, joined Jobs's list of friends. His contribution to the common cause can be called no less significant, since the style of the products for Jobs was no less important than the technical characteristics.
Unfortunately, it cannot be said that Steve Jobs was a good friend, and many would not call him a good person. The softest definition that could be given to his character: "fickle" and "hot-tempered". People who worked with Jobs noted his sharpness, selfishness, hysteria, disdain for employees, envy of other people's achievements. Steve knew how to make friends like no other, but with the same ease he lost them, left them, left them. The mistakes of the past and notoriety haunted Steve even when his age had softened his difficult character. Someone would call it the law of karma, but rather, the ordinary law of life.
OBJECTIVES AND MEANS
Another unique feature of Steve Jobs was the absolutely incredible desire to reach the future. Yes, his projects brought in billions of dollars in revenues, but he, by and large, didn't give a damn about it. He used money only as a means to achieve his goals - the development of new ideas that can shake the world. Jobs's views on computer technology were radically different from those of other developers. He didn’t want to think of a computer as a set of parts to tinker with, sort through, and replace. Jobs created the computer as a work of art - a single unit that combines a case, "filling" and even a box that the customer will throw away the next day. Every design detail of Apple products had to be in harmony with another, and programs had to be intuitive for the widest range of users. This decision caused - and still does - the most diverse reactions. Some praise Jobs' products as an ideal fusion of technology and design, while others reproach for snobbery, high prices, proprietary software.
Despite waves of fair criticism, Jobs continued to embody ideas in his own unique style throughout his life. I did not even shy away from stealing ideas from competitors. “Picasso said:“Good artists copy, great artists steal”. And we have never been shy about stealing great ideas,”- this quote from Jobs looks extremely unflattering for him. At the same time, Apple is known for litigation over copyright issues, and Steve Jobs has repeatedly stated that Microsoft in general and Bill Gates personally stole a ton of valuable ideas from his company.
For the sake of fairness, it should be noted: in general, Jobs preferred to invent things himself or inspire others to do it, and not to appropriate someone else's.
MASTER OF UNIQUENESS
In October 2003, Steve Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Reinforced stubbornness did not help him in the fight against a terrible disease - he refused surgery for a long time, preferring to be treated with alternative medicine: vegan diet, acupuncture, herbs … In the end, the tumor was removed, but it was too late. Steve Jobs died on October 5, 2011 at the age of fifty-six.
Jobs left, leaving behind him not a company - a real empire. In May 2011, the Apple trademark was recognized as the most valuable brand in the world, with an estimated fortune of one and a half hundred billion dollars. And although his fame and wealth exceeded all reasonable limits, Jobs still worked to the last, as long as he could stand on his feet, coming up with new devices, programs and accessories.
Another feature of his work, perhaps the most important of all, was precisely the uniqueness. Steve Jobs truly hated copying, always trying to create something completely new, even when it took unthinkable money and a lot of time. When they told him: “It is impossible to do it,” he just cursed and insisted on his own - and in the end result he was right. This was recognized by both his fans and haters, former and current friends. Steve Jobs honestly earned his title of the creator of the future - and that is how he will be remembered when the future finally arrives.
Sergey Evtushenko