Steve Jobs

Everyone thinks they know of Steve Jobs. Some would describe him as a genius, a workaholic or one of the fathers of modern technology. Others would remember him as the slightly gaunt figure in the black sweater, faded blue jeans and worn trainers introducing the latest technology from Apple. Very few would know much about the real Steve Jobs. The complex, charismatic, mercurial man of contradictions who may be one of very few modern figures who really do deserve that label, ‘genius.’

The innovation and creativity was always there, but the early genius was often hidden. Much of his early energy during college years was devoted to pranks and practical jokes. Including, putting a huge extended middle finger on to one of his high school’s buildings with his friend Steve Wozniak.

It must also be said that not all of Jobs’ ideas bore fruit. At Reed College he started experimenting with Eastern mysticism, and also concluded that if he ate only fruit, he would eliminate all mucus from his body and therefore not need to shower – it is fair to say that some of his latest ideas were better than this one.

During this time he also developed interests and habits that would stay with him even into the days of multi-millionairedom. Right until the end of his life he would fast for long periods of time and had it not been for his first summer job at Hewlett Packard, the rest as they say might not have actually been history.

The Jobs phenomena started in 1955 when he was born in San Francisco to a Syrian father and Swiss-German mother who were both freshly graduated from high school. His birth was as complex as the man he would become. His maternal grandfather didn’t approve of the union or the birth and the young Steve was put up for adoption. His new parents were Paul and Clara Jobs and when Steve was five they moved to California.

Jobs’ closest friend, who was to remain close to him, Steve Wozniak, described the young Jobs as, ‘kind of skinny and wiry and always full of energy.’ The clashes in his personality became evident early on. His teachers described him as a ‘turbulent child who didn’t care about school until the fourth grade.’ This is when he met the teacher who became an inspiration to him, Imogen ‘Teddy’ Hill.

He was dragged reluctantly into the world of learning by the simple measure of Imogen bribing him to learn with candy and $5 bills. High school at Cupertino seemed only notable, because it was during this period that he started his association with computers. He went to after school lectures at Hewlett Packard and this led to his first summer job at the company. If it is possible to identify the start of Jobs’ meteoric rise, it was at this point.

The eccentric and determined aspect of Jobs’ personality began to truly emerge at Reed College. He dropped out after one semester, but continued to attend non-award classes. He survived by sleeping on friends’ floors and buying food with money he earned through returning discarded Coke bottles for the deposit. Jobs himself acknowledges the importance of this period in his life. He once said: “If I had never dropped in on that calligraphy course in college, the Mac would never have had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts.”

After college, Jobs found employment with the Atari video game company. The Jobs free spirit and enterprising nature didn’t seem to take kindly, even at this early stage to working for someone else. But he was desperate for money.

However, the quirky side of Jobs showed itself. His manager had to move him to the night shift because although he was a talented worker, he developed a habit of calling his co-workers rude names and he also ‘smelt bad.’ Perhaps a throw back to his unusual ideas about mucus and showering. The Steve Jobs that people will remember began to develop in 1976 when the 21-year-old along with two friends, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, founded Apple.

They had managed to secure financial backing from a semi-retired Intel product-marketing manager, A.C “Mike” Markkula Jr. At the helm of his own company, Jobs was described as ‘personal and charismatic,’ but also, ‘erratic and temperamental.’ This would appear to be a recurring motif throughout the life of Steve Jobs. All along he has been energetic, focused and determined to succeed, but equally determined to do things in his own way.

Perhaps the older, wiser, multi-millionaire Steve Jobs in still figuratively raising a middle finger to the world, much as he did on his high school building so many years before. The public face of the iconic Apple brand has died. But he changed the world. And the world is a poorer place with his passing.