Steve Jobs' TED Speech

This week’s post is about Steve Jobs and his speech at Stanford University. Perhaps the rest of the class will chose to write about this TED speech as well, but the products Apple made under Steve Jobs’ leadership directly affect the residential audio / visual integration business. The man talks about how he overcame being adopted, dropping out of college, and having cancer.

Jobs was adopted by a working class couple who promised his biological mother that he would go to college. Steve Jobs did go to college. But, the cost made Jobs think it wasn’t worth it after six months. So he dropped out. No longer bound to taking the required classes, Jobs sat in on some of the college’s calligraphy classes. He implemented this knowledge of calligraphy into the Macintosh. “It was the first computer with beautiful typography,” Jobs said. He says, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” That trust will give you the confidence to keep going even when things look bad.

Jobs was fired from Apple just after the release of the Macintosh. He and a new employee didn’t share the same vision for the company so Jobs was let go. He was devastated. He realized that he still loved doing what he did. After being fired from Apple, he started the companies Next and Pixar over the next few years. Apple acquired Next and Steve Jobs begin working with Apple again. Jobs said, “The only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love.”

Steve Jobs came down with pancreatic cancer. Doctors were able to cure him of pancreatic cancer. But, as we know, his health continued to decline until he died this year.

The story of Steve Jobs is an excellent story of overcoming adversity. So many bricks were thrown at his head and he kept plowing through them until his final breath. So many of Apple’s products are used in the residential AV integration business today. iPods, iPads, and Mac Minis are at he heart of a good portion of modern installations. Without Steve Jobs at the helm of Apple, it is possible that these things wouldn’t be as successful as they are. He proved that no matter what hand you’re dealt in life you can still play the game and come out on top. You must do what you love and you will produce great work.