Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the passing of the innovative genius of our age, Apple Inc’s co-founder Steve Jobs.
To commemorate it, have a read of the moving piece by Jobs’s close friend and long-time colleague, Jony Ive. It is a reminder how Jobs’s legacy stretches beyond the beautiful products his now two trillion dollar company keeps spoil us with.
Although I have had the opportunity to quiz a number of those who knew the man, including Apple’s other co-founder, affable Steve Wozniak, most of my knowledge about Jobs is book learnt.
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The bulk of it comes from the best biography on Jobs, written with some co-operation during the last years of his life by Walter Isaacson, former editor of Time magazine, chairman of CNN, history professor and CEO of the Aspen Institute.
Isaacson was so brutally honest that after the first half of the book, sane sapiens may well rate Jobs among the least attractive people on earth. By the end that reverses 180 degree – thanks primarily to a personality transformation fashioned largely by the remarkable Laurene Powell Jobs.
Isaacson’s biographies on Einstein, Leonardo, Kissinger and Franklin are well worth acquiring. The one on Jobs, however, is required reason for entrepreneurs, innovators and seekers.
I got so much out of the 571 pages that instead of the standard single piece, my book review on BizNews was in three parts – The unravelling of a genius; Sweating the small stuff; and the importance of marrying well.Â
If you haven’t yet discovered the Isaacson biography, you’re in for a treat. Ditto if you missed the best Commencement Speech of all time – Jobs addressing Stanford University in 2005. story.
My favourite Jobs story, however, comes from his sister Mona Simpson’s eulogy in the New York Times. She writes how, surrounded by his wife and children, her brother spoke six words before closing his eyes for the last time. As he was slipping to the other side, he said … “OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW.”
Last word, however, goes to a paragraph that inspires me daily.
The advert announcing Jobs’ triumphant return to Apple in 1997 reads: “Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes … the ones who see things differently … They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
Quite.
More for you to read today (click on linked headline to access) –
* This startup says the stock market should be open 24/7. 24 Exchange seeks SEC approval to offer round the clock trading, 365 days a year.
* Six exercises for runners to build muscle balance. Runners focused on logging miles sometimes neglect strength-training, which can lead to injury. Try these single-leg exercises to stay healthy.
*Â Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel want $35m for their LA mansion. Before their marriage, Timberlake bought the 10-acre property in Hollywood Hills for $8.3m
