Jobs, a rebel, an artist. "Steve Jobs", one of the most shining names in the history of human technology.
● He's unruly, he's out of place, he doesn't like to stick to the rules, and he doesn't want to settle for the status quo. You can identify with him, you can oppose him, you can praise or denigrate him, but you can't ignore him.
10 years ago today, on October 5, 2011, Jobs passed away.
Steve Jobs is an American inventor, entrepreneur and co-founder of Apple.
● After 10 years of purification, Jobs still stands there - the heart of a rebellious person!
● We might as well revisit his life on the 10th anniversary of his death: not bound by dogma, not living according to other people's ideas, not being obscured by the clamor of the world! Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition... And these are beyond the reach of most people.
When asked how you would rate yourself, Jobs replied without hesitation:
I am a rebel against the forces of darkness.
First, tandem life
● Steve Jobs was born in San Francisco, California, on February 24, 1955, and was abandoned by his parents just after birth. Luckily, Paul Jobs and Clara Jobs, a well-meaning couple, adopted him. The Jobs discovered Steve's talent early on, they lived near Silicon Valley, and Steve often interacted with Hewlett-Packard employees, and he became interested in electronics.
When he was 12 years old, he wanted to make a frequency counter, when he found the number of Hp founder Bill Hewlitt in the phone book and called him to get some parts. Bill immediately sent him parts and invited him to come to HP for an internship during the summer.
Jobs (right) and Watts (left)
● In junior high school, Jobs met Wozniak for the first time at a class reunion. Although Woz is 5 years older than Jobs, Jobs seems to be more mature than he is.
● On April 1, 1976, Jobs, Woz, and Jobs's friend Long Wayne signed a contract to set up a computer company in their garage, under the name Apple by Jobs. Who would have thought that in just 10 years, Apple would grow from two poor boys to a company worth more than 4,000 people and 2 billion.
Jobs's parents did not have much savings as blue-collar workers, and they were always obedient to Jobs. Despite the high tuition fees at Reed University, 17-year-old Jobs went there to study. But after only 6 months, he dropped out. For 6 months he didn't see the value of going to school, didn't know what he really wanted, and didn't know how college could help him find the answer. These are things that Jobs can't stand.
● The school eventually retained his qualifications as an auditor. For the next year and a half, he only went to his favorite classes, such as calligraphy.
I learned about serif and sans-serif fonts, how to adjust their spacing between different combinations of letters, and how to make perfect layout designs, which contain beauty, historical meaning and artistic subtleties that science cannot capture, which fascinate me.
Jobs in 1982
Jobs slept in a friend's dorm, picking up a 5-cent Coke can just to fill his stomach. Every Sunday night, walk seven miles through the town, just to have a decent meal at Krishna Church...
This kind of behavior is still difficult to be recognized by the mainstream even today, but there is no doubt that we cannot predict the future, but we must believe that the bits and pieces obtained now will be connected in the future. Because if you believe that these bits and pieces will connect your future path, you will follow your inner confidence that they know what kind of person you want to be, and everything else is secondary. Even if your choice is not recognized by the mainstream.
● When Jobs later designed the fonts in the Mac computer, the calligraphy classes that seemed to have no practical value to life in college all emerged.
Second, man, what must be believed - to find the way of faith
I think different religions are like different doors to the same house. Sometimes I feel like the house exists, and sometimes I feel like it doesn't exist. This is the most mysterious.
● In search of his own mind and the pursuit of personal enlightenment, Jobs traveled to India for ascetic experiences. After spending 7 months in an Indian village, he discovered a treasure of a higher rank than reason– intuition!
Jobs said:
When I returned to the United States, I felt a culture shock that was even stronger than when I went to India. We use our minds, and they use intuition, and their intuition is much more developed than that of people in other parts of the world. Intuition is very powerful, in my opinion more powerful than thinking.
In fact, when a person's mind gradually calms down, the mind will have space to feel the subtle things around it, which is similar to meditation. The practice that Jobs advocated was precisely this feeling of finding one's true self and not being confused by external constraints! This is also an important reason for the philosophical atmosphere of Jobs.
Imagine that what you find through this way of practicing, whether it is for yourself, or for a certain product, or an idea, you will have a shocking state of passion and irrationality. Because these are not blinded by the outside world, not disturbed by others, I really love and am willing to give unconditionally to them.
In his kitchen. "After staying in an Indian village for 7 months and then returning to the United States, I saw the madness of the Western world and the limitations of rational thinking."
It is also extremely important that we know that Jobs began to study death, religion, and so on very early on. He was a fanatic of Zen Buddhism and had made ascetic pilgrimages in India, which gave him a strong humanistic overtones. But then he turned his mission to tech entrepreneurship. He wasn't A purely natural technological genius like Woz.
Before him, there were very few such people who were both good at the humanities and mastered the sciences, and this seemingly contradictory or not much direct connection was perfectly integrated with Jobs.
Edwin Rand, founder of Polaroid, once said:
The creativity that can be generated by the combination of humanities and scientific talents in a person with a strong personality is a key factor in building an innovative economy in the 21st century.
Third, the most complex is the most simple
● Three points: empathy, focus, and impute.
Jobs's father once taught him that the pursuit of perfection meant:
Even where others can't see it, you must do your best for its craftsmanship.
Jobs applied this philosophy to the apple II's internal board layout. He rejected the original design on the grounds that the lines were not straight enough.
● Simplicity, derived from the fact that there are rules to follow in the complex. It is not simply the simplicity obtained by deletion, but the simplicity that must be understood enough to grasp by digging into the depth of complexity. This is the core of the Bauhaus design style.
For example, if you want to put screws on your product, it can create a more complicated situation, because some screws are necessary. A better way is to understand how every part of the product is made, from a screw to a line display. By grasping the essence of the product, it is possible to judge which ones are not important and can be completely removed. This is also the reason why Jobs often pondered various models.
Fiddling with Lisa's computer.
● He is different from other corporate designers to meet the requirements of engineers, but first let the designer design a certain product appearance, and then the engineer according to the designer's design to reasonably install the circuit board. Let creativity and technology combine perfectly, both.
Creativity is just connecting things .
● The same is true for doing things. When people start discussing what the next 10 things to do are, they argue with each other in the hope that their suggestions will be taken. At this point, Jobs would ask them to write down the suggestions and then delete those he thought were stupid. After several rounds of debate, the entire group will finalize the top ten "most important things to do". Jobs would draw out the last seven and declare, "We can only do the first three." ”
After all, "desperate" was one of Jobs's favorite words.
Fourth, reality distorts the position – the best way to foresee the future is to create the future with your own hands
● Transform personal charisma into persuasion, and use the power of personality to persuade, coerce, and distort facts. This is the "reality distortion force field.". This is a unique ability of Jobs.
● He said to Atkinson:
Imagine surfing at the forefront of the waves, it must be exciting, and imagine learning to swim at the end of the waves, it doesn't make any sense. Come to Apple, you can attract the attention of the whole world.
● So, Atkinson joined the company.
Jobs and John Sculley in 1984
● He said to Sculley
Do you want to sell sugar water for a lifetime, or do you want to seize the opportunity to change the world?
● So, Sculley also went into Apple...
Jobs always had the ability to make it impossible for you to say "no." He can combine his frightening eyes, focused expressions, superior willpower, distorted facts, the urgent desire to achieve the goal, and the ability to form an audio-visual confusion. He knows what to say to win someone's heart. Jobs could attract people and make people fall for at will, and he liked to do so.
● But the ability to "distort the force field of reality" has advantages and disadvantages.
For example, Apple's theft of technology from Xerox PARC has sometimes been described as one of the worst acts of robbery in industrial history. Jobs would occasionally proudly admit this statement:
Didn't Picasso say, 'Good artists copy ideas, great artists steal inspiration.' We've always been brazen about stealing great inspiration.
In 1982, the Apple office. In 1982, the Apple office.
● This idea is generally considered to be relatively extreme, but on the other hand it is indeed true. Jobs and his engineers made huge improvements to the graphical interface technology they saw at Xerox PARC and then put it into practice that Xerox could never have achieved — a huge gap from idea to implementation. In the process of innovation, the novel idea is only part of it, and the specific implementation is equally important.
5. NeXT
Later, Jobs was expelled for serious disagreements with Sculley.com. In his own words:
I was kicked out of the door by apples at the age of 30 in full view of the public, and the focus of my entire adult life was suddenly lost, which was a fatal blow, and for several months I was overwhelmed. I became a well-known loser, and I even wanted to escape Silicon Valley. But Apple's failure didn't change one thing: my love for the industry! Although I was driven away, my love was still there, so I decided to start all over again.
It's clear that Jobs is different from other people who are stuck in certain thought patterns. He saw the idea as scaffolding that could move at will, rather than a needle groove on a record that could never come out again once it got stuck. Jobs was a brilliant artist, Apple was a work he stepped on on the scaffolding, and when the work was completed, or it no longer belonged to him, it was time to remove the scaffolding and create the next "work of art" – NeXT.
If it's not gold that shines wherever it goes, NeXT grew out of a conversation Jobs had with the American scientist Paul Berger: "Why not run simulation experiments on computers?" "Not only will you be able to conduct experiments faster yourself, but one day, new microbiology students in the United States will use Paul Berger's recombinant gene software." "Berg explains that computers with this capability are too expensive for university labs." Suddenly, Jobs was excited about the possibility," Berg recalls, "and he thought of starting a new business." He was young and wealthy, and he wanted to find something to do for his future life. ”
● NeXT was born, and he showed Jobs's personal attitude at a glance.
NeXT Computer Company, 1988. After leaving Apple, in the new company he created, Jobs was able to unleash all his instincts, for better or worse.
Sixth, Pixar's encounter between technology and art
When I saw these people in Lucasfilm's computer department, I realized that they were ahead of others in the field of fusion art and technology, and this field has always been my interest.
Jobs knew that computers would be hundreds of times more powerful than they are today in the coming years, and he believed it would bring great advances to animation and realistic 3D graphics.
Toy Story poster.
● As the pioneering work of Pixar's animated feature-length films, "Toy Story" is still a very interesting and whimsical work even today, when the toy has its own sense of life, the film not only renders a world full of joy, but also has a metaphor for real society, making it a fairy tale belonging to adults. The innocence of the past, the simple joy, is like the fearless courage of Buzz Lightyear in the movie: "Fly into space, the universe is infinite!" "All give people a sincere resonance, as if people have returned to that beautiful era."
● But what many people don't know is that at first, due to Disney's involvement, the character of Woody was full of cunning. It was because Jobs and John Lasseter firmly believed that products have souls and objects have emotions. Woody and Buzz Lightyear each have their own missions, to bring people the innocence of the lost, the simple joy, which is an artistic enjoyment.
● The integration of technology and technology is only the first step, the film is not only to have good technology, but also to have artistic connotations, just like being a person!
7. The Second Coming
After all, Sculley was a profit-making businessman who had no desire to create products that would change the world. Jobs was thinking more about making great products and focusing on what was really valuable, which was more important than catering to consumer desires!
On December 2, 1996, Steve Jobs set foot on Apple's land in Cupertino again after 11 years. In the posture of a savior!
Steve jobs
The reason Jobs was able to lead Apple to create amazing products was that he didn't personally have the consumer needs of Ellison or the intrinsic impulse of Bill Gates to go to charity. What he wanted was to be able to leave a mark on the universe. He has long confessed to many people:
I feel like I'm going to die when I'm young, I need to achieve things as quickly as possible, and we may only have the opportunity to do a few really great things and get them done. None of us know how long we'll live, and I don't know, but I feel compelled to take advantage of my youth and achieve more.
Apparently, he did, and he created two of the best brands of his time— Apple and Pixar.
Driven by his self-conscious needs and personal motivation, he was to be satisfied by creating legends that would be awe-inspiring. This really includes two aspects: making great products that are constantly innovating and changing, and building a company with lasting vitality. He wanted to take a place in the Pantheon with the likes of Edwin Rand, Bill Hewlett, and David Packard, even one level higher than them. —Walter Isaacson
Since losing power exactly 12 years ago on the weekend of July 4, Jobs has returned to apple's foreground. Although only as a nominal advisor, everyone knows that Apple's control is once again back in the hands of its founders.
Jobs in 1996
He shouted at a big strategy conference: "This is crazy. "He grabbed the magic marker, walked over to the whiteboard, drew a horizontal line and a vertical line on it, and made a square four-grid table." That's what we need. He continued. At the top of the two columns, he wrote "consumer grade" and "professional grade." At the two-line heading, he wrote "Desktop" and "Portable." His job, he says, is to make four great products, one for each grid. "There was silence in the conference room." Schiller recalled.
This is What makes Jobs stand out — he knows how to be focused. It sounds simple, but deciding not to do anything is just as important as deciding what to do!
If you find that something is not done right, you can't just ignore it and say 'deal with it later', which is what other companies do.
Extraordinary — you say you want a revolution
● In order to reflect the core of Apple's brand, Jobs is committed to releasing an unprecedented advertisement. Communicate to customers that they want to win through innovation. This is also an important method that Mike Marcuola taught Jobs:
A good company learns to "instill" — it must do everything it can to convey its value and importance, from packaging to marketing.
● Thus, there is a "Extraordinary" that can enter the history of advertising.
● There are two dubbed versions of Jobs and Richard Dreyfus. In the end, Jobs decided to choose Richard because he didn't think it was an ad to show himself.
● The focus of this advertisement is not to instill apple brand, apple logo, to the public. In fact, in addition to the black-and-white portraits of iconic historical figures, the advertising content is only the Apple logo and advertising slogan in the corner " Extraordinary" in the corner.
Very few other companies or leaders— and probably none— dare to associate their brands with Gandhi, Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr., and Picasso. These people were jobs' idols. They dare to take risks, they are not afraid of failure, and they dare to gamble their careers to do something different, which is what Jobs, or Apple, has always pursued.
Through this ad, people will think that Apple is not thinking of "the same thing," but of "something different." Think of something different, think of a lot of different things – extraordinary!
People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world can really change the world. —The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.——Apple's "Think Different" commercial, 1997)
You have nothing, and there is no reason not to follow your heart
● All along, Jobs has stood at the intersection of "science and technology" and "humanities" streets. He can see at a glance the second-rate products that are flooding the market.
In 2004, the office was located in the home of Palo Alto. "I like to live at the intersection of humanities and technology."
Jobs's last years were his most prolific moments. He led Apple to release many revolutionary products. These products, quite literally, have changed the world. Jobs himself said:
Fate seemed to tempt me to do it, and perhaps to make it better.
His quest for perfection has led him to do his best with everything he does with the product. This is also why before each speech, each page of content will be made into three different styles of PPT, each page of slides must be changed six or seven times, every sentence will be turned over and over, change one or two words, and then say it again.
● This extreme pursuit is worth it. For many things in life, there is a difference of about 30% between "best" and "average".
In 1997, after returning to power at Apple, he prepared a speech at the Macworld Conference in Boston at home. "In that madness we see genius."
Another important reason why Jobs was eager to show his ideas to the world as much as possible was that he was ill.
Jobs had cancer, and in the early days of his illness, he insisted on a conservative treatment according to his own ideas: a strict vegetarian diet and a large intake of fresh carrots and juices. In addition, he has performed acupuncture, tried various herbal remedies, sometimes using therapies obtained on the Internet or in various parts of the United States, and even consulted psychics. These practices further contributed to the exacerbation of his condition.
Remembering that I'm going to die soon is the most important tool I have when faced with life's big choices. For almost everything —all the outside expectations, all the pride, all the fear of embarrassment and failure — all these things vanish in the face of death, leaving only what really matters. Remembering that you're going to die is the best way I know to avoid falling into the trap of thinking you're going to lose something. You have nothing, there is no reason not to follow your heart.
● In ancient Rome, when the victorious general triumphed, legend has it that a servant would repeat the "death warning" (memento mori) at his side. Meaning, remember that you will eventually die. The warning of mortality helps heroes to see things correctly and cultivate a humble character. Jobs's death warning came from the doctor, but it didn't humble him. On the contrary, after recovering from surgery, he was even more passionate. As he said in his speech at Stanford University, illness reminds himself that there is nothing to lose, so he should move forward at full speed and forge ahead. "He came back with a mission."
10. Every grain of microsand
" Every Grain of Sand , one of Jobs' favorite Bob Dylan songs:
In the moment of resentment, I could see the Hand of the Creator, in every trembling leaf, in every grain of sand.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 – Steve Jobs is gone. His family was by his side, caressing him.
● The "rebel" who was half-convinced of God and had devoted his life to creating great products was gone. His coffin was exquisitely crafted, without a single nail or a screw, as he thought—pure and simple.
● In its commemoration of Jobs, Apple first helped design an "extraordinary" commercial when he returned to Apple in 1997, and his own dubbed version was first made public.
People listened to familiar voices, as if Jobs were describing himself sincerely and excitedly. Today, he is also a member of the epic, pantheon.
Click to see: Apple ad voiced by Jobs: Extraordinary "think different" _ Tencent Video
To crazy people.
● They are maverick, they are unruly, they are mischievous, they are out of place.
● They see things differently.
● They don't like to stick to the rules, and they don't want to settle for the status quo.
● You can identify with them, oppose them, praise or denigrate them,
● But only they cannot be ignored.
● Maybe they are crazy in the eyes of others, but they are geniuses in our eyes. Because only those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world can really change the world.