Steve was a visionary, charismatic leader, and a clear communicator. I think a lot of people underrate how far and how good clear communication can ease up a creative process. Make Something Wonderful is an Inspiring read. Inspiring in many ways as Steve himself – his life, visions, actions, simplicity, and his view of humanity.
Known for his echoes and strides in tech, Steve Jobs was as human as the tech is. The book’s portrayal of Steve’s exploit successfully highlights the fact that he built hardware for human disposition, whilst echoing both the strength and frailty of the human condition.
Steve’s inventions were as human as they came. The iPhone was the first of its kind – the first mobile phone whose user interface was modeled 100% around human touch. The sleek design of the Macintosh changed the game and ushered in a generation of personal computers.
These products were human, but importantly, they lived after Steve, and as with every human condition, are subject to change, alteration, and upgrades.
“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 inner voice. And most importantly, dare to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Many of Steve’s speeches were simply about doing something remarkable, living with intent, trusting your guts, being the misfit, and doing what works. This doesn’t have to be inventing the Macintosh or designing the first human-handled model phone. It could be as small as waking up and showing up – putting brilliant efforts into the smallest responsibility.
Every human being is a wonder of whatsoever creation they believe they are from. This is what births the firm responsibility of being amazing and investing in this amazement.
I was inspired by the story of how Steve’s effort was pivotal in passing the Southern California Live Donor Registry Bill after he had suffered from a failing liver. This bill required California drivers to decide whether they wanted to be organ donors when they renewed their driver's licenses. This process proved to be instrumental in increasing the number of organ donors and transplants available in California.
The central lesson here is that while Steve was rich enough and could buy his way into getting a new liver, this wasn’t the case for someone with an unequal status who would have to wait for the longest time. According to Steve, everyone ought to have the right to an immediate transplant. Human.
“There’s a human drama to most everything. You look at it sometimes, and it seems as dry as history. But if you peel the onion, there’s humanity underneath.”
Also inspiring is that Steve documented everything – from emails between himself and his staff to personal self-communicating emails. His emails were written and communicated brilliantly. An effect of clear and brilliant communication is to keep oneself at bay with everything happening around, thus ensuring that a clear and thought-out action plan is conceived and acted upon.
Another message I got from this book is the idea of love. I’ve always viewed love as something that burns deep from a passionate perspective – for me, love is a burning desire that leaves one unfulfilled until what is being loved is acted upon. And this was the crux of Steve’s existence. Steve loved Apple so much that in its moment of crisis, he was the only person who could save it.
Love.
“Love what you do”
Love is the genesis behind every great work. Behind building great products and making clear choices in life and little execution. As seen through the life of Steve Jobs, his love for life was demonstrated in how he applied himself to everything he did – from the early days at Apple to the days at Pixar and NeXT, shattering box office numbers, building products that redefine how we view our world and being at the forefront of healthcare legislation.
Making Something Wonderful is an inspiring book. I enjoyed it, and I think you would too.
It’s been a while since I wrote to you and I’m quite happy to share a little bit of my knowledge from this amazing book with you.
Truthfully, I have been busy as hell. Work has been extra tasking and I barely have time to play around my writing skills. Either way, I’m never backing down. I’ll curate a newsletter as often as I can, and with subjects that amaze me.
I’m currently stuck between reading two books – Decoded by Jay-Z & The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb. More like I want to re-read Decoded because it’s been one of my best and most influential books. Black Swan would be the second book I’ll be reading by Nassim Taleb. The first was Skin in the Game.
While I was away, I curated a couple of playlists for myself and I’d love to share them with you as a token of our friendship: Coal Furnace & Midnight in Versailles.
Until next time, stay poppin’