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Jobs and more ...

Whether the topic is technology, entrepreneurship or corporate leadership - Steve Jobs is definitely a case study worth researching. His iconic leadership style, his resounding success with technology lifestyle products as well as animation movie world and his valiant turnaround of Apple - a company which he co-founded but was kicked out from.

However, Steve is also a case study for those of us interested in philosophy, self help, and spirituality. Jobs started as an arrogant, over-the-top young prodigy CEO. Everything about him was perfect from his cute boy looks to the elegant ideas he had. In those days, he looked no less than Tom Cruise.

But he soon found trouble at his doors when both his personal and professional life tanked. He was officially ousted from working on his pet project - the Mac, and was later relieved of his position as the chairman of Apple forcing him to quit Apple altogether. In personal life, his history of of LSD and hippy lifestyle, his failure to acknowledge parentage of his daughter Lisa often found more mention in media than his technology breakthroughs.
He is himself known to have said:
I’m the only person I know that’s lost a quarter of a billion dollars in one year. It’s very character-building. [ref]

What followed NeXT (pun intended) was a series of failure and 10 long years of perseverance which taught him above all else - humility. Bad health which compounded his troubles during these years made him loose not his steam but definitely his external appearance.

Finally when he tasted success again through Pixar - he was a much mellowed personality - his good looks replaced by a worn bearded face. What is remarkable thereafter is how Jobs recovered his position salvaging the dying Apple in the process. Also notable is that he still doesn't believe in being a stereotype, but creating a type of his own. Take for example his "official attire" of black turtleneck; his absolute allergy to business formals (which even Bill Gates embraced).

While not all of us may be lucky to return life's aces with the kind of success that Jobs has done, yet his story is not only full of learning, but an inspiration that even after you loose your everything - your own company, your good looks - you can still rebound in life.

As they say - Fortune favours the brave! There is no better example than Steve Jobs to illustrate this.
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