A great deal is going to be written about Steve Jobs in the near future. There are already several biographies and so many articles dissecting him you could wallpaper the Taj Mahal.
This brief post is about an idea I have for him.
Steve, now that you’re done with being CEO of Apple, I’d like to make a humble request on behalf of very young people. One of the things you could do for them, and future generations, is to simply share, in simple terms, about your life and how to be an entrepreneur. You’ve inspired a lot of people in your time, myself included. Your courage, brilliance, and effectiveness are remarkable. Why not add further glow to your amazing legacy by explaining to kids why it’s okay to be to be different?
In my view, one of the reasons creativity and ultimately entrepreneurship don’t happen as much as it might, is because young people have been scared into conforming. Steve, somehow you escaped that trap. And your path is not for everybody. Still, it’s hard to go wrong when somebody chooses to follow their passion instead of a safe route. You’ve said in the past not to waste time living someone else’s life — I think it would be great if you said more on the subject.
Steve, please, please, please — take some time, have a think, and then make some videos. Specifically for young people. Do it your way, keep it honest, and please, do it now. Help shape a new generation of entrepreneurs — or — more broadly, help encourage people to follow their dreams. It just might be the most important thing you’ll ever contribute. It just might be a gift that keeps giving long past when the last iPhone is made.
3 responses to “An Idea for Steve Jobs”
Greg…Couldn’t agree more with one caveat! for some people, entrepreneurship is like a fountain of ideas bringing fruit to one successful business model after another one if time permitted. For others it takes forever to come up with even one idea which has solid potential for success. It’s not just about encouragement as if we encourage everyone the multitude will only fail in greater numbers. What we need are idea factories and business model fine tuning in people of all ages and then mentorship and financial support for those who make the cut! And there needs to be a release point so that they can choose to fly on their own when they choose that route.
Couldn’t agree more Dana. Not enough people take the entrepreneurial route to begin with, but your point about business model fine tuning is particularly on, as is mentorship and funding.
If anything, Steve Jobs proved that a singular vision can be the greatest attribute for success. I think we may be better off cloning Steve Jobs gene pool. That’s probably his next business model! It would earn huge dividends for centuries to come!