A Tribute to Steve Jobs

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Steve Jobs:

The Creative Entrepreneur

There is more to the life of Steve Jobs than just technological innovations. It is the story of grit and determination that deserves to be both celebrated and emulated.

T

he Wizard of Palo Alto is no more but his creative genius lives on.

As Apple iPhone 4S went on sale with record advance bookings in the middle of October, there was a surprise visitor at an Apple Store in Los Gatos in California. Among the people queuing up to buy the latest gadget from Apple, was Steve Wozniak, the man who co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs in the latter’s bedroom. (Apple was not founded in Jobs’ garage, as it is widely believed but in his bedroom, where the duo initially started working together on the first prototype of Apple I). While waiting patiently in the queue, Wozniak tweeted: “The long wait begins. I'm first in line.

The guy ahead was on the wrong side and he's pissed.” The technology company that the two Steve(s) founded in 1976 is today a multinational corporate giant with $386 billion in valuation and employing over 46,000 people.

It was Jobs’ innovative approach to life, technology and business that changed the game for Apple. But not before he was “very

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Zoom In The seven principles that Gallo has drawn from the life and work of Steve Jobs, include: Do What You Love; Put a Dent in the Universe; Kick Start Your Brain; Sell Dreams, Not Products; Say No to 1,000 Things; Create Insanely Great Experiences; and Master the Message.

publicly” ousted in 1986 from the company he founded. “So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating”, Jobs told Stanford University students many years later. Jobs later returned to Apple in 1996.

Most entrepreneurs will vouch that bouncing back after getting thrown out of your own company requires more than just auto-suggestion. Jobs soon discovered that despite being away from Apple, he still loved his work; “I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over”. Jobs’ immense power to bounce back despite setbacks makes him an inspiration for our generation of entrepreneurs. Not losing hope in the wake of things going horribly wrong is a big learning from the life of this creative entrepreneur.

In his famous book, “The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Succes”, Carmine Gallo takes a close

look at Jobs’ legacy of innovation.

Gallo says, Apple’s slogan "Think Different" is more than a marketing tool.

“It's a way of life–a powerful, positive, game-changing approach to innovation that anyone can apply to any field of endeavor.” The seven principles that Gallo has drawn from the life and work of Steve Jobs, include: Do What You Love; Put a Dent in the Universe; Kick Start Your Brain; Sell Dreams, Not Products; Say No to 1,000 Things; Create Insanely Great Experiences; and Master the Message.

In today’s times of corporate greed, when ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protests are echoing across the globe, it is rare to see a CEO of a multi-billion dollar company celebrate both life and death in the same breath. “Death is very likely the single best invention of life.

It is life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” These words made Steve Jobs immortal both as a person and as an entrepreneur.

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Jobs had always thought of creating positive experiences for Apple customers. It was visible in both his products and his famous presentations that enthralled audiences the world over. The passion and the energy that Jobs carried with him even during the last few months of his life while battling pancreatic cancer, were exemplary.

Last but not the least; Steve Jobs’ take on life and death revealed the more beautiful side of his personality.

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Vimarsh Bajpai