13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

1) You read about an entrepreneur: Steve Jobs, By: Walter Isaacson 

• What surprised you the most?

What surprised me the most is that the name Apple had a very specific reasoning. Jobs gave the company the name Apple because it;s alphabetically in front of the company Atari. Jobs previously worked at Atari and didn’t want his former company  and now competitor to be ahead of Apple in a phone book or in any kind of listing when people were looking up computer companies.

• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

I admire Steve Jobs for truly changing the world. Although many hiccups along the road, Jobs has always persevered to strive for his goals. His success is unmatched and his determination to see his vision through is inspiring stuff.

• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

What I least admire about Jobs is that he tends to blow up on individuals and can be a huge jerk. Some of the stories recounted in the book were very surprising. However, everyone is human and I don’t necessarily think Jobs is an awful person just because he’s been a mean person in periods throughout his life.

• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Jobs was fired from Apple in 1985. After this he invested his time and money into NeXT and Pixar. His investments into Pixar eventually made him a billionaire. Who knew that initially getting fired from Apple would actually be a blessing In disguise for Jobs. Crazy.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

Jobs’ determination and the way he could communicate with people was truly a gift. It’s the reason why his employees worked 90 hours a week to make the best product possible. Jobs’ ability to inspire and motivate was one of his greatest gifts.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

There wasn’t really anything that confused me.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

The first thing I’d ask is what the biggest regret regarding his career and then I’d ask what’s his biggest regret he has regarding his personal life. I’d ask him this to pick his brain. For a man who’s done so much for the world and has accomplished so much success, I find interest in seeing if there’s a different path he would’ve taken in the past or if there’s anything he would change. That stuff really interests me.

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

I think Jobs saw hard work as the key to success. I agree with that because I truly feel dreams don’t work unless you do. Many things in life don’t come handed to anyone. You’ve got to work for what you want to make things happen and I believe Job’s worked his absolute tail off to turn his dreams into a reality.