A Business Discussion with Stephen Wozniak
Steve is a brilliant inventor, engineer and programmer. He has great passion for what he does. I enjoyed hearing him speak regarding his career, his start in the industry building HP calculators and his first design of circuit boards in the 1970’s. He shared a great story of his interaction with Steve Jobs in his own garage, building the first home computers and how he came to work for Apple. The man has enormous talent. He was the original engineer behind the Apple 1 and Apple 11 computers. As he shared his experiences I realized much of what I have learned about business and living your passion is true. Like many of the other “Stars” I met, he surprised me. He actually struck me as a somewhat intuitive man and in sync with his heart’s desire. One of his statements stood out as very important:
“Everything I did at Apple was an A+ job and that took us places, I had two things in my favor … I had no money, – I had had no training.”
Why is this statement important? First of all, having great talent without the money to buy basic necessities can be a serious driving force to use our genius and bring something great to the world. Stephen is a man who knows how important it is to utilize our genius.
We all have an innate genius. Something we are born with, a built-in brilliance and passion and it’s up to us to share it in our unique way. He didn’t even have to spell it out, as he spoke of all the innovations and creativity he used to support Steve Jobs it was clear his genius had supported Apple to become the business it is today.
Second, Stephen had no real formal training. Being curious and innovative he learned his way. It worked for him. At one point he actually was bounced from the University of Colorado for hacking into the College computer system. Having no formal training left him to use his creativity in the best way he knew how. He was not pigeon holed into a specific way to use his knowledge, which left his path wide open to create computer components with his own creative talent and intuition. A powerful way to bring anything to life.
Stephen also spoke about how important it is to hire the right team of people. How feeling valued made it easier to bring others to the team with their own area of brilliance. Not only do we hire these people for their brilliance, but bringing the right people into your dream with a real sense of passion for what they do and who they are is key. He expressed his passion for how Apple became what it is today and it was obvious he was indeed thrilled for what he had contributed.
Doing what you love will create great drive and passion. Being valued and trusted to use your genius in your unique way will bring incredible creativity, inspiration and excitement each and every day! With the long hours and incredible amounts of focus required for successful business, embracing a real desire to serve the world is a must for any entrepreneur and business owner.
Take a moment now to self-assess. Do you feel valued? Are you able to use your genius? Have you found your passion?
Ultimately, the choice is yours! Do you choose excitement and excellence? Or, are you choosing a life of ho-hum and mediocrity?
It’s your life! https://outrageoussuccess.com
