13A - Reading Reflection

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

• What surprised you the most?

What surprised me the most after reading, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, was where the majority of Jobs money actually came from. Now, heading into this novel I was under the impression that I was about to delve into the world of all things Apple. I was so sure of the fact that the majority of Jobs wealth came from this company, but in actuality it came from his entrepreneurial mind. The majority of Jobs money came from an investment deal he made, this deal was buying a large majority of Pixar. In september of 1985 Jobs resigned from Apple and instead began to invest his money into Pixar and neXT, unfortunately neXT did not return in its value, but after the release of Toy Story in 1995, Pixar grossed over 350 million dollars. 

• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

I believe that his most admirable trait was his determination and his inability to give up. This man had been through struggles, through the gains and losses but through it all he was still fiercely determined to make something that he could believe in. He continued to build his empire and soon, 12 years after his initial leave from Apple was brought back, where he was then able to become CEO of the company. 

• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

What I found to least admire about Jobs was his ability to work with others. It was very apparent that he was a sort of control freak. He was incredibly competitive and always had to be number one, to an extent this mindset is okay, but not when you’re an adult throwing temper tantrums. 

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

The biggest failure that jobs encountered was him being fired from his own company, Apple, in 1985. He had been tossed to the side while the world continued to revolve around him, but he did not give up. He took his money and invested it wisely into Pixar, in the end turning into a billionaire. 

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

The biggest competencies that Jobs exhibited was his ability to overcome adversity and his drive to do better. He was always so competitive with others and often times himself. He would strive to be the best of the best until one day, he did just that. He was able to build his own empire before returning back to Apple and reclaiming another throne for himself. 

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

One part of the text that was confusing to me was chapter 11, The Reality Distortion Field. It went in depth about how Jobs coworkers dubbed his through processing and idea making RDF or his Reality Distortion Field. Explaining this further, when Jobs had an idea or put his mind to something he would “bend” his reality until the idea was born into existence. No matter the task, he was so determined to make something once he set his mind to it that it would always occur. 

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

Question #1) What did you find to be your biggest motivating factor throughout your life? Did it change over the course of your lifetime? Or was it consistently the same motivating factor?

Question #2) Do you have any regrets in the way your life turned out? Would there be anything you would go back and change if you could? Are you content with how your life ended up?

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

I do believe that Jobs idea of hard work was incredible, he had begun his life from from absolutely nothing. He knew that he wanted to create a name for himself, to persevere over all of his competitors and he did just that. My idea of hard work compares to his similarly, but at this point in my life I am still attempting to discover myself as a person and figure out what it is that I want to accomplish. Once that has been discovered there is nothing anyone will be able to do to stop me.