Reading Reflection #3

For this Reading Reflection assignment,  I chose to read the biography of Steve Jobs. Given my age, and the era that I grew up in, Steve Jobs is someone that everyone knows, and certainly knows the success that he has had and the quite literal effect his company has had on most, if not all of our lives. So I was really interested to take a dive into the biography about Steve Jobs that was written by Walter Isaacson.
1. There was something that really surprised me about Steve Jobs while reading this book, and that was the fact that he had worked for so long in the technology industry so to speak. When I think of the emergence of technology in our world, and specifically Apple, I think of it being something that has come about in the last 20 years. In fact, Steve Jobs was working in this industry in the 70's and 80's which really surprised me. I admired this while reading this about Steve Jobs. I respect someone that has spent so much due diligence on something and turned it in to what he envisioned it. This work ethic is something that is proven to take you far in life so I definitely admired that about Steve Jobs. As far as something that I didn't admire about Steve Jobs, that is hard to point something out. I did not see much in this biography that made me not admire that particular trait or quality. I think everyone has their flaws and makes their mistakes, so I do not think it is fair to have an opinion on those. One of the things that we just recently wrote about what the importance of failure in an entrepreneurs journey. Steve Jobs was not excluded from this adversity and failure. He faced adversity all throughout his life and his work ethic brought him out of it and made him a better entrepreneur for it.
2. I have mentioned it a few times already, but Steve Jobs had a work ethic that I believe really sets him apart from others. This is a competency that doesn't take any prior knowledge in order to develop and demonstrate, rather it takes simple heart and determination, and it is clear that Steve Jobs had that. Steve was also an extremely intelligent man, which certainly helped. His industry knowledge and education proved to be a big factor when it came to his success with Apple.
3. Other than the technology industry as a whole being confusing to me, there wasn't much about this book that was confusing to me. Walter Isaacson did a great job and provided the readers with a ton of information about the life and the work of Steve Jobs.
4. If I were able to have the opportunity to ask Steve Jobs two questions, I would simply ask him what advice he had for someone like me trying to find their passion in life and turn that into a career, and I would also ask him what he believes is his most important quality in being a successful entrepreneur. I think these two questions could spark meaningful conversation that can be applied in various different aspects of my life, and I would certainly be enthralled to hear what he had to say.
5. I have covered this, but it is clear that Steve Jobs would speak volumes about hard work. This is the one thing you can control in a world of unknowns. I think I would have very similar outlooks on hard work as Steve Jobs, as I am sure many other people do as well.