PROFILE
NAME: Steve JobsTYPE OF OUTLAW: The Unconventional Outlaw
INTRO
"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’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do" - Steve Jobs
The quote above is from Apple's iconic Think Different ad campaign in 1997. The whole purpose of the campaign was to re-iterate to the world what apple stood for. Regarding the advert Jobs stated: "how do you tell somebody what you stand for, what your values are, if you don’t know somebody very well, you can ask them, “Who are your heroes?” You can learn a lot about people by hearing who their heroes are. So we said, “Okay, we’ll tell them who our heroes are.” Throughout the advert you see "misfits" & "rebels" ranging from Picasso to Amelia Earhart to Buckminster Fuller. And as the narrator talks about these "crazy ones" who are crazy enough to think they can change the world you'd be forgiven if you assumed it was also describing Jobs. It probably was, this is a guy who co-founded a billion-pound company from his parents’ garage after all.
HOW JOB'S THRIVED BEING UNCONVENTIONAL & OPPORTUNISTIC
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” - Steve Jobs
Jobs, just like most success stories that grab the world's attention started out from humble beginnings & eventually grew into this phenomenon. He did this partly by nurturing his eccentricities instead of hiding or oppressing them, & partly by being pragmatic & creating opportunities by doing things.
Conventional systems & traditions like school, 9-5 jobs & travelling to Bali to find yourself when the first 2 don't work for you aren't for everyone. No one is conventional & our routes to success aren't either. We all have our own quirks & idiosyncrasies so it makes no sense to blindly adopt these 1 size fits all solutions to life. Everything isn't for everyone. Job's did what worked & made sense to him at that particular moment in time. When school stopped working & making sense to him he dropped out. Jobs was very a liberal, zen, hippie guy who was into the arts, walked around bare foot & probably wore crystals. Not long after he dropped out of school he even embarked on an enlightenment pilgrimage to India. This throws up the question of how a guy like this goes on to be so successful in an industry that was so far away from this spiritual image he had.
His first passion wasn't business or computers, he only dabbled in that world when he needed money but you can always find & cultivate new passions in the most unexpected places. Sometimes you have to accept your reality & be pragmatic. Life doesn't afford everyone the luxury of doing what they love. In most cases that doesn't pay the bills, especially if you buy a lot of organic produce. Sometimes you just have to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING & there's nothing wrong that. You have to be active, that is how you create opportunities & new passions. Job's did this. Even though he wasn't passionate about computers he saw an opportunity to make money from them by making & selling circuit boards to "wireheads" when model kit computers were the latest trend.
Everytime you endeavour to do something you are creating an opportunity for yourself & opportunities breed more opportunities. Just make sure you take them when they come along & only stick with them if you develop a genuine love for it. This is what eventually led Job's to stumbling into the tech world (most likely wearing no shoes) & completely revolutionising the industry. He may have only founded Apple to make money initially but there's no denying that he did develop an unrelenting passion for it & coupled with his divisive, perpetual drive for perfection in everything he touched he had a recipe for success. When you embrace your authenticity & are truly passionate about the things that you do, success follows.
WHY YOU SHOULD EMBRACE YOUR UNCONVENTIONAL TRAITS
“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” - Steve Jobs
The stories of unconventional, difficult people rising to success act as proof that our own unconventionality won't limit our potential for success. Steve Jobs was as unconventional as they come & it didn't stop him. His obsessive-compulsive behaviour didn't stop him. His narcissistic tendencies somehow didn't stop him. Even his belief that he didn't need deodorant because his vegan diet masked his body odour didn't stop him, despite the fact that his body odour was far from masked.
In a world where everyone aspires to be normal, unconventional people think different, feel different & behave different. They're both valued & despised. They make people uncomfortable. They challenge everything; opinions, systems & the status quo. They disrupt, push & raise the bar for everyone else. Job's epitomised this, once stating: “Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.” Job's definitely could have gone about enforcing these high standards in a nicer manner though. He was often rude, abrasive & blunt when trying to get excellence out of his staff. Personally I think that method is counter product when being kind comes naturally to all humans. Nevertheless unconventional people see things differently to people who think they're normal & that comes with both opportunities and challenges.
I know that I can be unconventional, stubborn & uncompromising at times. I naturally challenge everything, which can be frustrating & annoying to many people. Imagine someone contradicting everything you say, sometimes out of curiosity, sometimes just for the sake of it. Annoying right? I also have a hard time accepting flaws whether they're my own or other people's (another trait many people find annoying). And I have an unhealthy obsession with progress, many people just find this weird. I know all of these things can either work for me or against me depending on how I utilise them. I also know if I utilise them correctly & align them with passionate work, there's no telling how impactful I could be.
“We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So, it better be damn good. It better be worth it.” - Steve Jobs
What makes you unconventional? What makes you different? These are the things that define who you are. Embrace them, let them help you push the boundaries & challenge the status quo. You will only dilute the impact you could have on this world by shying away from your unconventional nature.
WHAT KIND OF OUTLAW ARE YOU
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” - Steve Jobs
Although Job's arguably didn't follow his heart as it probably would have led him to being some sort of spiritual life coach. It can be argued that he did think for himself & follow his intuition. I think our intuition lies in our gut, also known as the gut instinct. Following your heart is a nice idea but maybe should be left for the films where everything always works out in the end & everyone lives happily ever after. Following your gut instinct rather than your heart is the difference between going down a path that looks a bit suspicious but gets you where you need to go & going down a path that looks appealing but leads to a dead end. He also certainly listened to his inner voice & used his outer voice to get excellent work out of the creatives around him. He didn't do it on his own but he used his vision & the creatives around him expertly to launch the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone & the iPad, making his company the highest valued company in the world. He wanted to "make a dent in the universe" & with the universe being infinite it's an impossible goal which speaks to his unorthodox nature. However I do think we can all agree he made a dent in our world. He is an unconventional outlaw.
What kind of outlaw are you?