Biography Of Steve Jobs: Inventor Of The 21st Century

Creativity and absolute genius are perhaps the two words that come to mind when you think of Steve Jobs. Some say he was the inventor of the 21st century. And it’s not exactly a metaphor. The way people work, communicate and engage in the world is primarily thanks to this genius.

He was successful in business early in his career. Maybe that’s why he always said that before amount of success or money could impress or motivate him to keep working. He made one simply a dream come true.

A dream that old ideas and big meetings about shares took away from him. But Job never lost his visionary spirit. He never gave up.

Like many other particularly creative people, Steve Jobs lived his life between success and frustration, between a new project (which no one had thought of before) and the pursuit of a more meaningful life.

The early years

Steve Jobs was born in San Francisco, California in 1955. His biological parents were two college students who adopted him away at birth. Little Steve happily found a family who encouraged and supported him.

He went to school in California and then moved to Portland to go to college. His time at Reed College was significant as he developed excellent qualities that contrasted with his apathetic personality.

His spiritual guest

In 1974, Steve Jobs went on a trip to India to find a meaningful purpose in his life. He spent some time in the ashram of Shri  Neem Karoli  Baba´ in Kainchi. He actually studied Buddhism in a Zen center in Los Altos  in the 70s. Jobs forged a lifelong friendship with his Zen master.

His biographies claimed that Zen Buddhism changed his life and the way he worked. In 2005, Jobs said:

In the 70s, Steve Jobs also took part in his country’s counterculture movement, experimenting with psychedelic drugs. Jobs said  his time with drugs was fundamental as it put his entire life in perspective  and allowed him to visualize his future.

Steve Jobs and the first computers

His  first computer job was at Atari, where he met Steve Wozniak, a computer technician who would later co-found Apple with Steve Jobs. They were the perfect duo. Wizniak’s intelligence as a technician met Jobs’ business talent, which they used to create the project that would become an empire.

At the time when they worked for Atari, computers were exclusively for large companies and cost more than a house. Wozniak built the first personal computer since he wanted to have one at home. That’s where it all began.

Two visionaries  began selling the first personal computer in Steve Jobs ‘parents’ garage. Although they went their separate ways after some time, they achieved amazing things together.

The adventure of Apple

In the following years, Apple computers expanded into the market. The shares in Apple became public and things started to get a little complicated for Jobs.

In 1984, they designed the first Macintosh. It was an invention that made a big difference in the computer industry. However, it did not sell as expected. Apple had grown and the board did not share Jobs’ vision or passion.

They believed that Steve’s demanding and perfectionist attitude undermined his creativity and visionary abilities. Like all other ingenious people who have become part of the story, Steve Jobs needed teams that worked with the same passion and vision.

Eventually in 1985, Wozniak left Apple. A year later, the board of directors deprived Steve Jobs of his executive duties, leaving him with nothing to say in the future of his own company.

Therefore, Jobs also left Apple. This is where he created Next and began participating in Pixar projects to produce animated films on computers. His time at Pixar led him to great success and allowed him to gain respect for his own work.

Back to Apple

Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1996. It was at a time when the company was technologically behind Microsoft. Apple had almost gone bankrupt, but Steve’s return gave it a new direction. He canceled all the ongoing projects and regained control of his business. He wrote history once more.

Jobs then designed a new generation of innovative products, such as the iPod, iPad and of course the iPhone. He established a standard for portable digital music.

By 2008, iTunes had more than six million downloads and more than 200 million iPods had been sold. Jobs introduced the iPad and the entire tablet system. In 2012, Apple became the most valuable public company in the world.

In a 2007 interview, Jobs said:

Early death of Steve Jobs

A perfectionist, a passionate and visionary human being. These traits were his angels and his demons.

In 2003, Steve Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, leading to a number of health problems. Either way, he kept working until the year 2009, after which his illness forced him to leave his job. He passed away in 2011, at the age of 56. He was buried in an unnamed cemetery in Palo Alto, California.

Steve Jobs thought of the slogan “Think differently” when he got Apple back.