Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs started his career as Co-founder of Apple in
1976.By his introduction of Apple -2 and Macintosh computers, he democratized
computers i.e. can be used by any person who knows basic computer languages,
much user friendly. Later he was out of Apple in 1985.Again he was back in
Apple in 1997 as an Interim- CEO.This was the first step forward of Steve to
save Apple from bankruptcy and reported losses of $700mn. Within two years as
Interim -CEO, Steve changed the strategies of product lines and introduced
iMac, Mac G3 tower and Wi-Fi product; turned around Apple and gained back its
old legacy.
Steve Jobs took up reigns as full time CEO on January 5;
2000.He worked hard and launched various path-breaking products like MacOSX
with 3Dgraphics, iPod, iTunes,
iDVD, iPhoto, iCal, iApps, Apple retail stores, Apple TV,
iPhone, iPad etc.He worked extensively for two decades to design, create and
innovate all these products at Apple. This shows his profound passion for
technology. He not only unveiled these products, but also took all possible
ways to create awareness and interest in consumers through stage shows,
commercial ads, retail Apple stores as many as hundred throughout U.S. ,thus
followed powerful marketing strategies.
He created a Golden Era of revolutionary products for Apple Inc. Apple Inc
reported its last losses in 2001.In Jobs tenure all these revolutionary
products created revenue of nearly $350mn.His contributions to technology and
Apple Inc are outstanding.
He crated a revolutionary technology in music world that
captured major market share and Steve remained in hearts of many people. He
became Emperor of technology.
This shows his keen knowledge and quick exploration of
technology, which will be admired by the consumers. Steve was Perfect blend of
vision, leadership, management, and technical Know-how. The design and the
features of the products he introduced show the way he thinks beyond the
expectations ; which makes him stand ahead of leaders in the industry in
thinking and framing strategies and the way he changes the change before the
change changes him. He became charismatic icon for millions of people by
succeeding in making technology seamless, intuitive, exiting, beautiful and
easy to use rather than dull and complicated. He also paved way for 3D
animation, which was not possible without him. He lived his dreams of making
big things.
As Steve was suffering with ill health, he resigned as CEO
on August 25, 2011, with Tim Cook as his Successor. Steve was legendary and all
time strategist and great visionary, who looked decades ahead. He laid a
concrete path to follow for the future generation leaders, managers and
visionaries. He left the world for good on October 5, 2011, but his
revolutionary technological achievements always remind him to us. His loss
created a vacuum in the world of technology. Steve forever stayed in the pages of
history and this would be the greatest tribute of humanity to him. Impressions
and Impact of great leaders like Steve Jobs cannot be erased.
Career Outlook
Career of Steve Jobs was like a roller coaster ride with
full of excitement and a dream to achieve heights in making a world’s best
computer. Jobs in 1974 was desperately in need of money and took a job at
Atari; known to be a first video gaming company making pinball machines,
started by Bushnell. When he was at Atari, he made a trip to India to meet a
baba for enlightenment, but returned disappointed. In 1974, Steve worked for
Atari and his high school friend Woz was working for HP; and both of them
attended Homebrew, a computer hobbyists club. Steve found the potential and got
interested in homemade computer of Woz, thought that computer is essential to
run software programs. Finally, they planned to assemble the computers
themselves and sell the whole board at Homebrew meetings. Therefore, in 1976,
Steve and Woz started Apple Computer Co; the name was suggested by Jobs after
visiting an “apple orchard”. To get 1,000 dollars required to make the first
computer board, Jobs sold his Volkswagen van and Woz his HP 65 calculator. Both
the friends shared 45% of shares of the company each and remaining 10% was
given to Ron Wayne ,Job’s friend at Atari; who helped them for paperwork to
start the company and drew the logo for the company.
Steve and Woz assembled the computer parts in Job’s garage
and sold them to Homebrew members. It costed them $200 and they sold it for
$500 at a margin of 33%. This way they sold a few hundreds and the response was
not very promising as they expected. Later Ron was sent out; paying him some
amount and the company was incorporated on April 1, 1976.
Steve and Woz started working on Apple-2, based on Apple -1
design with improved design and it was a huge breakthrough. Apple -2 created a
revolution in personal computing, because it was the first computer that was
user-friendly and could be used by any one who knows basic programming
language. It was the only computer that could produce color, with any color TV
you would plug it in; It could handle high-resolution graphics and sound, and
had a basic interpreter built-in software called VisiCalc (first spreadsheet
brought to the market) that worked only on Apple -2, which added upon to its
success.
After Apple 2 was finished, Steve and Woz were looking for
venture capitalists, who could fund the company and that was done by Mike
Murukkula a former Intel employee 34yrs old .He met Steve and Woz, got
impressed by their vision and was sure of return on his investment. Mike drew a
plan to manufacture 1,000 computer units for 250,000 dollars. The logo of Apple
was also changed with a bitten Apple and the colored stripes that represented
to emphasize the Apple -2’s ability to display color and the Apple computer was
placed in a plastic case and looked like a professional computer. Its sales
were sky rocketing until 1980. The company had revenue of $47 million in fiscal
year 1979, making Steve Jobs a millionaire owning $7 million worth of private
stock. Finally, on December 12 1980, Apple Computer Inc went public; the
operation was a huge success beyond anyone’s expectations. It was the biggest
public offering in American history. After the IPO, Steve Jobs was worth $217.5
million, $210 million more than the day before.
Apple -3 and Lisa encountered unbelievable failure and Steve
was not in both the projects, because he was a tough and harsh manager and the
Engineers did not want to work with him. Therefore, Mike decided to send out
Steve, as a head to handle Mac team. At this time, Apple was dependent on its
6yrs old version Apple-2 for its revenue. John Sculley was brought in as CEO,
who had a good relation with Steve at the beginning. Macintosh was given number
one priority in Apple. The computer world was shaken by introduction of IBM’s
PC. Despite of huge commercial advertising and release of Macintosh as a
revolution to a cheering crowd at Cupertino’s Flint Center auditorium; the response
was damn slow in first two months. With Apple's stock price sinking, conflicts
between Jobs and Sculley mounted. Sculley won over the board in 1985 and pushed
Jobs out of his day-to-day role leading the Macintosh team. Jobs resigned his
post as Chairperson of the Board and left Apple within month.
Steve Jobs’ main passion was still in building computers
that made him to start a company named NeXT, and the NeXTCube was released in
1988. Unfortunately, due to its high price- tag and a lack of useful software,
the computer did not sell well. After years of trying to improve the machine
and cut the price, sales still did not improve, and the company’s co-founders
left, one after the other. In 1993, NeXT gave up its hardware business and
focused only on its advanced software technology.
Meanwhile, in 1986, Steve Jobs bought the Pixar Company for
$10 million. This company had been trying to sell advanced graphic workstations
to specialized markets without success. In 1990, the company focused on
developing an advanced 3D language called RenderMan. The animation division
remained because its work on TV commercials was bringing in revenue. Pixar was
contracted by Disney to make a full feature film with computers in 1991, but
this contract was cancelled by the end of 1993.But, Pixar returned to Disney
with an improved script for the Toy Story feature film, and the project was
re-ignited.
Realizing the power of the Disney brand, Steve Jobs took
Pixar public the week after Toy Story was released and cashed in on the media
hype surrounding the first computer-generated animation movie, with great
success Steve got 80% share in the company and his net worth rise to over $1.5
billion.
In 1996, Apple was running down at an alarming rate, failing
to deliver new products on time and lagging behind in software development. Gil
Amelio was CEO, starting in February 1996. In the same year, Gil bought Next
for $400mn and Steve was appointed “informal adviser” to CEO Gil Amelio. Gil
Amelio lost his position as CEO after announcing Apple’s losses of $700 million
for the first quarter of 1997, and Steve Jobs was named interim CEO in July of
that year.
Steve started working hard in 1997 to get Apple back on
track. He hired Tim Cook, as COO in 1998.His first decision was to kill Mac,
which affected the hardware sales and that Apple would drop its 20+ product
lines and make just four great products: a Consumer desktop, a Consumer
notebook, a Pro desktop, and a Pro notebook. The first product lines to be
reinvented by Steve Jobs were the Pro products, Power Mac and PowerBook, which
he unveiled in November 1997, only eleven months after he came back. These machines
were relatively fast machines designed for creative professionals, which
outperformed their Pentium-based competitors in many respects. Apple was back
to profitability, it had made a $45 million profit in the last quarter of 1997.
Steve unveiled the iMac on May 6 1998, at the Flint Center auditorium in
Cupertino. The iMac was also the first personal computer only with CD-ROM
drive. Most striking feature of iMac was its design; it was a translucent,
blue/green, round machine in a boring world of beige boxes, which influenced a
whole generation of designers. The iMac proved one of Apple’s biggest hits,
selling two million units in its first two years.
Steve made two product announcements at Macworld San
Francisco, in January 1999. First was a brand new Power Mac G3 tower that was
not only faster, but also featured a new, appealing design inspired by the
original iMac. Second was that the iMac would now come in several colors. After
six months, Apple to fill its product matrix with powerful product mix of
breakthrough computers, in July 1999, Steve unveiled the iBook at Macworld New
York. In the same show, Apple launched first Wi-Fi product, the AirPort base
station. Wireless connectivity was typical of an Apple innovation.
After two years as Interim CEO, Steve Jobs completely turned
Apple around. He restored the company’s public image, implemented a winning and
focused strategy, attracted software developers, and launched highly innovative
and inspiring products on the marketplace.
January 5th, 2000 was a great day for Apple as Steve not
only saved the company but also took up the responsibility of full time CEO of
Apple Inc. His work at Pixar was only confined to negotiating with Disney,
leaving him enough time at Apple.
Mac OS X was the result of three years of hard work by all
of Apple’s Software Engineers to port NeXT STEP to the Mac platform. Max OS X
had 3D graphics, were based
on the most widespread standard, OpenGL, and the media core
was Apple’s QuickTime, an old Mac technology. Mac OS X shipped on March 24,
2001, and became the core of Apple’s success. Apple entered into retail
business and inaugurated their first Retail Store in May 2001. In addition
Digital hub strategy was also unveiled in 2001.
Apple’s software developers worked on new Digital Lifestyle
Applications, namely iDVD for movies, iTunes for music. In addition to iMovie,
iDVD and iTunes, iPhoto was released in 2002, followed by iCal later that year,
Garage Band (for recording and editing music) in 2004, and iWeb (for making websites)
in 2006. The reason Apple was able to develop such breakthrough Software so
rapidly was, mainly Mac OS X, with its Object-oriented environment inherited
from NeXTSTEP.The iApps was a killer application, by which all the windows
users had to switch over to Mac, as they do not have complete digital life
solution on their platform.
In late October 2001, iPod was released which created a
digital revolution for music lovers. Shiny white ipod has click wheel, user
interface made browsing easy and fast, and its 5GB memory stored nearly 5000
songs; in your pocket. This mind-blowing product is connected to your Mac via
FireWire, which was 30 times faster than your typical USB MP3 player that
synchronizes with iTunes. Steve unveiled an iTunes music store on April 28,
2003, at a special Music event. Five million songs were sold in first eight
weeks, and another eight million in the next fifteen weeks, bringing iTunes’
share of legal music downloads to 70%, but was only Mac-compatible.
Steve unveiled iPod mini, a smaller version of the iPod, in
January 2004, which came in attractive colors and soon captured the MP3 player
market in the world. A year later, he launched the iPod shuffle, a cheap, flash
version of the iPod, to go after the rest of the competition. The Company
improved its product line every year, introducing the iPod nano in September
2005 and the iPod video the following month. Every year after that, the iPod
line was refreshed every September. As of 2006, Apple’s market share in music
world was 70% and remained at same level even today.
Apple fought for approximately a decade to gain market share
in PC industry. The entire product line was ported to Intel in less than a
year. In January 2006, the iMac and the Pro notebook replaced Mac Book Pro, then
came the Mac mini in February, followed by the Mac Book (replacing the iBook)
in May and the Mac Pro (former Power Mac) and XServe in August. The Apple TV
was officially released at Macworld in 2007, but it has yet to prove itself as
a successful product.
On January 9, 2007, Steve took the stage at Moscone Center
in San Francisco; he unveiled iPhone, which made a history. This little box less than half an inch thick
was the ultimate digital pocket device, it worked as a Computer/ iPod / Phone
that allowed its owner to make calls, take photos, handle contacts and email,
browse the Web, listen to music and watch movies in a easy way that was
unmatched by any of its contemporaries.
After the release of Apple TV and iPhone, the company’s name
was changed, from Apple Computer Inc to Apple Inc.Later Steve had some health
problems. On Jan 5, 2009, Steve announced that he was diagnosed with pancreatic
cancer and he has to undergo a liver transplant. He took off and was again back
with good health to Apple in late June 2009. After an almost entire year of
complete absence from the media scene, due to his
health problems, Steve has made an impressive comeback in
2010 and on January 27, Steve Jobs finally launched iPad(on which he started
working even before the iPod), Apple’s much-anticipated tablet. The iPad turned
out an amazing success. Apple sold 7.5 million of them as of September 2010,
representing close to 8% of its revenue for FY 2010.Apple Inc came out of
bankruptcy and became dominant player in the high tech industry under the
leadership of Steve Jobs.
Steve resigned from Apple Inc as CEO on August 24, 2010 with
Tim Cook as his successor.
More about Steve Jobs
Born:
Steven Paul Jobs February 24, 1955 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died:
COctober 5, 2011 (aged 56) Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Nationality: American
Alma mater: Reed College
(Dropped out after one semester in 1972)
Occupation: Co-founder and CEO,
Apple Inc (1974-2011)
Religion: Buddhism
Board member of: The Walt Disney
Company, Apple Inc.
Marital Status: Married
Children:
3 daughters and 1 son
Steven Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, in San
Francisco. Both his biological mother and father were students at the time
Steve was born; Joanne Simpson an unmarried graduate student and Abdulfattah
Jandali was student from Syria. Simpson gave Steve for adoption to Clara and
Paul Jobs; a lower middle class working couple living in Los Altos, California;
taking a word from them that they would send him to college.
The couple who adopted Steve started calling him Steve Paul.
Steve’s father was a machinist from Middle West and was educated very little;
not even high school. The couple moved to Santa Clara County, when Steve was a
toddler. Three years later in 1958, the couple adopted a baby girl called
Patti, who was Steve’s sister.
Steve in his early childhood days did not care much about
his schooling. In 4th grade a teacher called ‘Teddy Hills’; whom Steve stated
“saint of his life” ; bribed him with candy’s with her own money and created an
interest in him and put him back on track. He skipped 5th grade and went to
Crittenden Middle School, it was a poor area, and children were not really
working on anything good, except bullying other kids. So, Paul Jobs and Clara Jobs
moved to Los Altos to send Steve to Cupertino Junior High. This was an
ever-best decision made by the couple, which was a turning point to Steve’s
future.
Silicon Valley was a place where billions of dollars of
government funds were spent on upcoming technology of computing and space
races. A person in Silicon Valley won noble prize for invention of transistor
and HP was the robust company in 1939.As Steve was growing in Los Altos; he was
very attracted and curious towards the field of electronics, inspired by the
things happening around. Especially the Heathkits introduced by his father
build a tremendous self-confidence, learning complex things by exploring things
around our environment. These Heathkits would come with a detailed manual to
assemble smaller parts, which are differentiated by a color code. Steve build
few of the Heathkits, which made the things clear and he experienced the
essence of human creation.
Steve Jobs at Mr. McCollum’s Electronics class
Steve enrolled himself in electronics classes at Homestead
High School. The best friend of Steve (14yrs) at Homestead was Stephen Wozniak
(Woz 19yrs); both of them met in 1969. Bill Fernandez and Woz were involved in
making computer board; and it was Bill that introduced Steve to Woz. Steve was
very interested in electronics, which landed him in a summer job at
Hewlett-Packard before he had finished high school. Steve’s entrepreneurial
skills were prominent from his early days of childhood.
Later Steve Jobs stated:
“After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no
idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help
me figure it out. Moreover, here I was spending all of the money my parents had
saved their entire life. Therefore, I decided to drop out and trust that it
would all work out OK. It was scary at the time, but looking back it was one of
the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking
the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones
that looked interesting”. Steve also did all the way different things like
experimenting with Eastern mysticism. He read weird books and tried many
philosophical things like fasting for long periods, eating only fruits like
apples, having a laggered hippie etc. One of his best friends at Reed was Dan
Kottke, who shared his interests in such philosophies.
He married Laurene Powell on March 18, 1991, at Yosemite
.Few months later Laurene had Steve’s second child named Reed Paul. A media
report reveals that, Steve Jobs spent most of his time with his family. When
Jobs was able to make it to Apple, he would finish his work for the day and
immediately return home for dinner with his wife and children. Little is known
of Steve Jobs' personal life, and he wanted it that way. His obsession with
secrecy continued until the day he died. As news of the seriousness of his
illness (pancreatic cancer) became more widely known, Jobs was asked to attend
farewell dinners and to accept various awards. He turned down the offers.
"He was very human," Ornish was quoted as saying. "He was so
much more of a real person than most people know. That's what made him so
great."
He saw a few close friends and kept in touch with Apple
executives in advance of the iPhone 4S launch. He also made time for his final
conversations with Isaacson, even though on one visit his biographer found him
“curled up in pain” in a downstairs bedroom, too weak to climb the stairs. In
one of their writing sessions, Isaacson asked why Jobs had finally agreed to
co-operate for a biography. “I wanted my kids to know me,” he replied. “I
wasn’t always there for them, and I wanted them to know why, and to understand
what I did.”
Finally, Steve Jobs a Great Star Entrepreneur of the world
left his last breath peacefully, surrounded by his family on October 5th ,2011
.His loss was not only felt by his family ; but also was felt by the whole
world of technology.
Steve’s Commencement Speech at Stanford University (2005)
"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most
important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.
Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of
embarrassment or failure -- these things just fall away in the face of death,
leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is
the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.
You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."
Inspiring Quotes of Steve Jobs
“That has been one of my mantras - focus and simplicity.
Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking
clean to make it simple. Nevertheless, it is worth it in the end because once
you get there, you can move mountains”.
“Technology is nothing. What is important is that you have a
faith in people, that they are good and smart, and if you give them tools, they
will do wonderful”.
“I have a great respect for incremental improvement, and I
have done that sort of thing in my life, but I have always been attracted to
the more revolutionary changes. I do not know why. Because, they are harder,
they are much more stressful emotionally. Moreover, you usually go through a
period where everybody tells you that you have completely failed”.
“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative
people how they did something, they feel a little guilty, because they did not
really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.
That is because they were able to connect experiences they have had and
synthesize new things”.
“Again, you cannot connect the dots looking forward; you can
only connect them looking backwards. Therefore, you have to trust that the dots
will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut,
destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has
made all the difference in my life”.
“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best
to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations”.
“My favorite things in life do not cost any money. It is
clear that the most precious resource we all have is time”.
“I have always wanted to own and control the primary
technology in everything we do”.
“Being the richest man in the cemetery does not matter to
me. Going to bed at night saying, we have done something wonderful that is what
matters to me”.
“I am an optimist in the sense that I believe humans are
noble and honorable, and some of them are smart. I have a very optimistic view
of individuals”.
“For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality,
that has to be carried all the way through”.
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower”.
“Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Do not
lose faith”.
“Stay hungry, stay foolish”.
Management Style of Steve Jobs
Management style of Steve Jobs sounds all the way too
different. Here are few instances of his management style: "We've got
25,000 people at Apple. About 10,000 of them are in the stores. My job is to
work with sort of the top 100 people, that’s what I do. That does not mean they
are all vice presidents. Some of them are just key individual contributors. So
when a good idea comes, you know, part of my job is to move it around, just see
what different people think, get people talking about it, argue with people
about it, get ideas moving among that group of 100 people, get different people
together to explore different aspects of it quietly, and, you know - just
explore things."
Job’s approach on hiring people
"When I hire somebody really senior, competence is the
ante. They have to be smart. However, the real issue for me is, Are they going
to fall in love with Apple? Because if they fall in love with Apple, everything
else will take care of itself they will want to do what is best for Apple, not
what is best for them, what is best for Steve, or anybody else?
"Recruiting is hard. It is just finding the needles in the haystack. We do
it ourselves and we spend a lot of time at it. I have participated in the
hiring of maybe 5,000-plus people in my life. Therefore, I take it very
seriously. You cannot know enough in a one-hour interview. So, in the end, it
is ultimately based on your gut. How do I feel about this person? What are they
like when they are challenged? Why are they here? I ask everybody, 'Why are you
here?' The answers themselves are not what you are looking for. It's the
meta-data."
Steve Jobs was an unconventional leader
His management style was not the stuff of university
textbooks – he wasn’t known for his consultative or consensus building approach.
In contrast, Mr. Jobs has gone against that trend, ruling with an iron hand,
attending to every little product detail, and keeping employees on a roller
coaster of praise and fear. He was a "high-maintenance co-worker" who
demanded excellence from his staff and was known for his blunt delivery of
criticism.
Nevertheless, it was his sheer genius combined with his
ability to articulate his vision and bring staff, investors, and customers
along on the journey - plus the lessons learned in a major career setback -
that made it work. The results were indisputable. Despite Mr. Job’s harsh
management style, Apple employees are devoted. "That is because his
autocracy is balanced by his famous charisma, he can make the task of designing
a power supply feel like a mission from God.
Ten Golden Lessons of Life from Steve Jobs
His accomplishments and character helped define a generation
and change the world. He is co-founder of the fairytale company we now know as
Apple Computers. He is the visionary of the personal computers world that led
the entire computer hardware and software industry to restructure itself.
Here is a selection of some of the most insanely great
things he said, golden lessons to help you succeed in life, Jobs-style:
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
Innovation has no limits. The only limit is your
imagination. It is time for you to begin thinking out of the box. If you are
involved in a growing industry, think of ways to become more efficient; more
customer friendly; and easier to do business with. If you are involved in a
shrinking industry – get out of it quick and change before you become obsolete;
out of work; or out of business. Remember that procrastination is not an option
here. Start innovating now!
“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an
environment where excellence is expected.”
There is no shortcut to excellence. You will have to make
the commitment to make excellence your priority. Use your talents, abilities,
and skills in the best way possible and get ahead of others by giving that
little extra. Live by a higher standard and pay attention to the details that
really do make the difference. Excellence is not difficult – simply decide
right now to give it your best shot – and you will be amazed with what life
gives you back.
“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.”
I have it down to four words: “Do what you love.” Seek out
an occupation that gives you a sense of meaning, direction, and satisfaction in
life. Having a sense of purpose and striving towards goals gives life meaning,
direction, and satisfaction. It not only contributes to health and longevity,
but also makes you feel better in difficult times. Do you jump out of bed on
Monday mornings and look forward to the workweek? If the answer is ‘no’ keep
looking, you will know when you find it “You know, we don’t grow most of the
food we eat. We wear clothes other people make. We speak a language that other
people developed. We use a mathematics that other people evolved… I mean, we’re
constantly taking things. It’s a wonderful, ecstatic feeling to create
something that puts it back in the pool of human experience and knowledge.”
Live in a way, which is ethically responsible. Try to make a
difference in this world and contribute to the higher good. You’ll find it
gives more meaning to your life and it’s a great antidote to boredom. There is
always so much to do. Talk to others about what you are doing. Don’t preach or
be self-righteous, or fanatical about it, that just puts people off, but at the
same time, don’t be shy about setting an example, and use opportunities that
arise to let others know what you are doing.
“There’s a phrase in Buddhism, ‘Beginner’s mind.’ It’s
wonderful to have a beginner’s mind.”
It is the kind of mind, which can see the things, as they
are, which step -by -step and in a flash can realize the original nature of
everything. Beginner’s mind is Zen practice in action. It is the mind, which is
innocent of preconceptions and expectations, judgments and prejudices. Think of
beginner’s mind as the mind that faces life like a small child, full of
curiosity and wonder and amazement.
“We think basically you watch television to turn your brain
off, and you work on your computer when you want to turn your brain on.” Reams
of academic studies over the decades have amply confirmed television’s
pernicious mental and moral influences. Most TV watchers know that their habit
is mind numbing and wasteful, but still spend most of their time in front of
that box. So turn your TV off and save some brain cells. But be cautious, you
can turn your brain off by using a computer also. Try to have an intelligent
conversation with someone who plays first person shooters for 8 hours a day or
auto race games, or role-playing games.
“I’m the only person I know that’s lost a quarter of a
billion dollars in one year…. It’s very character-building.”
Don’t equate making mistakes with being a mistake. There is
no such thing as a successful person who has not failed or made mistakes, there
are successful people who made mistakes and changed their lives or performance
in response to them, and so got it right the next time. They viewed mistakes as
warnings rather than signs of hopeless inadequacy. Never making a mistake means
never living life to the full.
“I would trade all of my technology for an afternoon with
Socrates.”
Over the last decade, numerous books featuring lessons from
historical figures have appeared on the shelves of bookstores around the world.
Socrates stands with Leonardo da Vinci, Nicholas Copernicus, Charles Darwin and
Albert Einstein as a beacon of inspiration for independent thinkers, but he
came first. Cicero said of Socrates that, “He called philosophy down from the
skies and into the lives of men.” So use Socrates’ principles in your life,
your work, your learning, and your relationships. It’s not about Socrates, it’s
really about you, and how you can bring more truth, beauty and goodness into
your life everyday.
“We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why
else even be here?”
Did you know that you have big things to accomplish in life?
Did you know that those big things are getting rather dusty while you pour
yourself another cup of coffee, and decide to mull things over rather than do
them? We were all born with a gift to give in life, one that informs all of our
desires, interests, passions and curiosities. This gift is, in fact, our
purpose. And you don’t need permission to decide your own purpose. No boss,
teacher, parent, priest or other authority can decide this for you. Just find
that unique purpose. “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 other’s opinions drown out your
own inner voice. Most important thing is, have the courage to follow your heart
and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.
Everything else is secondary.”
Are you tired of living someone else’s dream? No doubt, it’s
your life and you have every right to spend it in your own individual way
without any hurdles or barriers from others. Give yourself a chance to nurture
your creative qualities in a fear-free and pressure-free climate. Live a life
that YOU choose and be your own boss. Each lesson might be difficult to
integrate into your life at first, but if you ease your way into each lesson,
one at a time, you’ll notice an immediate improvement in your overall
performance. So go ahead, try them.
Thanks,
Anil Singh(India)
