Steve Jobs Outliers

Want to be seen as a legendary thinker? Want to be the Henry Ford or Malcom Gladell of your field? Want to revolutionize entire industries—and business standards—like Steve Jobs? It’s not easy. It takes a lot more than sitting at a computer from dawn to dusk while others work a nine-to-five. Those divergent individuals that Malcom Gladwell discuses in his book “Outliers,” are visionaries and leaders in their fields—Steve Jobs being one of them. I have learned not only what Jobs has done to set himself apart, but also the advantages that nurtured him into the legend that he is. By looking at his approach, opportunities, and most importantly, his persistence, one can follow his path to success.
To excel in something you have to like it. It

In Steve’s graduation speech on June 12, 2005, he stated, "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle.” This is what Malcom describes as qualities that work has to have to be satisfying—autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward. Steve Jobs’s approach to his work was a large contributor to the overall success of Apple. By following his interests, he created some of the most influential products to the technology field that 500 million people use—second only to Facebook. The Wright brothers hardly gave birth to the idea of an airplane. Dozens of inventors were trying to build kite-like structures with broad wings and engines to power them; the Wrights methodically gathered all they could learn from those others and figured out how to use a lighter

Jobs put in countless hours of practice, at least 10,000 to be exact. 10,000 hours it the ‘rule’ that Gladwell greatly believes in—the rule that in order for an individual to master any skill, they must put in 10,000 hours of focused practice. Steve’s persistence in his field to continue working despite failures such as The Lisa computer, Macintosh Portable, or Macintosh TV. 10,000 hours. He doesn’t have 10,000 hours of either an engineer, designer or programmer, but does have the connection between all the traits that made his company so successful. Steve Jobs' value was in his ability to understand the user experience. Throughout the course of his career, Jobs was able to witness what worked well and what did not. He had the great ability to convince people that what he was doing was right; not just in a rational sense; but exuding a quality of righteousness; almost like he was on a spiritual mission and he had all the answers. This quality probably came from his ability to judge people's emotions and what they would like to hear, while also having a great knowledge of how technology could be personalized through a humanistic touch. All of these little Jobs related tidbits condense into my answer about Jobs' 10,000 hours. He spent his 10,000 hours at the exact intersection of technology and the humanities; for a while seeming to be the only individual that fully understood the