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Birth
Steve Jobs was born to an unwed couple and put up for adoption. His biological mother deemed it necessary that he be adopted by college-educated parents, which was the original plan until the intended couple decided that they wanted a girl instead. When Jobs's biological mother found out that the next couple in line, Paul and Clara Jobs, had never gone to college, she refused to sign the adoption papers for many months until they promised that Steve would attend college (Isaacson). -
College
As promised, Jobs attended Reed College, a school so expensive that his parents were forced to spend most of their life savings. But before freshman year was halfway over, Jobs decided to drop out, feeling guilty spending all of his parents money when he felt that he wasn't getting anything out of it. However, he stayed on campus, sleeping on the floor of friends' dorms, returning coke bottles for money, and sitting in on any classes that seemed interesting to him (Commencement Speech). -
Steve and the Mac
During a photo shoot in 1984, a photo of Jobs with the Mac in his lap depicts him as an extremely intelligent man with a real passion for his work. It is obvious from the way he is holding the Apple computer in his lap with his arms and head resting gently on top of it that he is very protective of his work. His soft smile tells that he is modestly proud of what he has accomplished with Apple. He lived a very simple life despite his company’s unfathomable success and profit (Daily Mail). -
His Time Without Apple
Jobs discusses how being fired from Apple affected him. For example, he founded two major companies, Pixar and NeXT, while away from Apple that later went on to become hugely successful and profitable companies. This shows us that Jobs does not let adversity knock him down. Even when his own company was taken away from him, he remained optimistic and used this as an opportunity to make something of himself, which reveals a lot about Jobs’s true character, personality and mindset (Lubenow). -
The Rise and Fall of Apple
In an interview, Jobs shares how he and Wozniak were most inspired by the company Hewlett-Packard. He reveals how he feels that he is not the right person to be in charge in order for Apple to grow and become more successful. This tells us a lot about his personality by showing us that he is not a controlling, power-hungry individual, but rather he is truly passionate about bettering the technological world whether his name is associated with the company that does it or not (Lubenow). -
Personal Life
After a trip to India, Jobs began to practice Zen Buddhism and veganism. These decisions truly altered the way he lives his life today in his simple home with little to no furniture. Jobs discusses how these beliefs transferred over into his work life and affected the way he ran Apple, creating products that were simple, quick, and meaningful in the pursuit of their intended goals. It inspired him to create the sleek, slim Mac that we are all so familiar with today (Lubenow). -
His Wish for a Long, Healthy Life
The original diagnosis led Jobs to believe that he only had 6 months to live. He was told to get his affairs in order, which Jobs saw as "code for prepare to die" (Commencement Speech). Later he went in for more tests and found out that his type of cancer was curable with surgery, and he now expects to live a long, healthy life for many more decades. It is heartbreaking to hear him say this in his speech in 2005 knowing that he only lived another 6 short years until 2011 (Commencement Speech). -
Connecting the Dots
When Jobs looks back on his decision to drop out of college, he views it as one of his best decisions yet. He didn't realize it at the time, but dropping out allowed him to sit in on classes that actually interested him that he never could have as a full time student. Specifically, Jobs talks about a calligraphy class he sat in on that later inspired him to program "multiple typefaces and proportionally spaced fonts" into the first Mac (Commencement Speech). -
Close Call with Death
Hearing the heartbreaking story of Steve’s close encounter with death and how it put things into perspective for him gives his audience a lot of insight into his beliefs and lifestyle. Everyday after being diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer, he asked himself "if today were my last day on Earth, would I want to do what I am about to do?" If the answer had been no for too many days in a row, he would try to make a change so he could live life to the fullest (Commencement Speech). -
Apple's Legacy
Steve Jobs is quite frank about the future of Apple during an interview for a "60 Minute" film that focuses on his entrepreneur side. He acknowledges that all of his hard work will soon be unable to be appreciated due to the constant progression and enhancement of technology, which explains why there is always a new Apple product being released. With this progression, Apple needs to stay ahead of the changes and be the trendsetter to stay at the top of the game ("Steve Jobs on His Legacy").
