Steve Jobs was stubborn

Apple! What comes to your mind when you hear this? The red fruit that keeps the doctor at bay or the high-end phones and Mac computers that make everyone drool? Both I believe, but the latter is definitely the stuff of our dreams. Who knew that a company which started in a garage will become the tech giant of the world someday. There was definitely a lot of sweat that went behind it, a lot of commitment that took it where it is today.

But, there was this day in 2011, the 5th of October, when apple flags flew at half staff, stores were flooded with flowers and notes as the Apple founder passed away. Steve Jobs, the man behind Apple had passed away. Other companies like Microsoft flew their flags at half-staff too. He definitely was a widely respected man.

Is it just his position that commands respect? No. There is much more to Steve Jobs than his designation. His life is an inspiration in many ways, there is a lot that can be learnt from him. But one thing that I observed was common in all his life decisions, something that made him unique. Steve Jobs was stubborn and that is one attribute majorly responsible for his success. How is being stubborn a positive attribute, you may ask?

The following are some instances where Steve Jobs was stubborn:

1) Stubborn to do what he liked: Steve Jobs was a loner at school and didn’t get along well with the traditional way of education. He became friends with engineers in his neighborhood and learnt as much as he could about electronics because that was something that deeply interested him. His deep love for electronics paved way for his friendship with Steve Wozniak who later became a co-founder at Apple. His first job at Hewlett-Packard was merely putting screws for electronics assembly but it interested him deeply.

2) Stubborn to learn: Steve Jobs dropped out of his college merely after 6 months of enrollment but he did frequently drop into classes that interested him. He slept on the floor for he didn’t have a dorm room and sold coke bottles to earn a meal but stayed stubborn to learn. He dropped into calligraphy classes and that eventually formed the basis of the beautiful typography in the first Macintosh computer and later into windows too.

3) Stubborn for spiritual enlightenment: He had a job at Atari inc as a technician when he wanted to travel to India to discover spirituality and without thinking about stability he envisaged on his journey to India. He saved for the trip by living a very simple life while his pre-travel tenure at Atari in Los Gatos.

4) Stubborn to Earn: Jobs indulged in illegal sales of blue boxes made by his friend Wozniak, that manipulated telecom signals to make free long distance calls. The venture was illegal but profitable, Steve Jobs hence exchanged his stubbornness for a learning that electronics is both enjoyable and profitable.

5) Stubborn to succeed: Steve Jobs put all his heart and soul into the company he started with his friend at the garage and the company grew to a $2 billion dollar company with 4000 employees in just 10 years, but there was a time when he was fired from the company and that surely left him devastated but he geared up yet again and started another company called NeXT and dedicated all his passion but NeXT was acquired by Apple and hence he returned to Apple. He also founded Pixar that went on to create the world’s first animated feature film.

Yes, Steve Jobs was stubborn, but that is what brought him success and respect. We salute Steve Jobs for teaching us these valuable lessons and being an inspiration. Today on his birthday we thank him for his contribution and perseverance.

Happy Birthday, Steve Jobs!

Smriti Tuteja Author 15 Blogs