13A-Reading Reflection

1) You read about an entrepreneur: Steve Jobs

What surprised you the most?

What surprised me the most about Steve Jobs was that he was a very independent person, and liked doing things his own way, on his own, and was very kept to himself. He did not like others intervening with his work, and although he had a few business partners along the way, he ultimately ended up without a partner because he just preferred working alone and not “sharing the wealth” as much as I expected. He was less open to other peoples’ ideas than I expected, as well

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

I most admired Steve Jobs’ pure work ethic and self-motivation to succeed until his product/company was exactly what he wanted it to be. He faced many bumps along the road, including being fired from his own company at first because he was seen as too young. However, this did not stop Jobs, and he worked hard until he became the roaring success we all remember him as.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

I least admire the fact that Jobs screwed his business partner, Steve Wozniak. I think he definitely could have handled the situation better, but he acted rather childish and irresponsible.

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

Jobs encountered quite a few failures, and also faced adversities such as being fired from his own company. He just put his head down and kept grinding because he knew what he had created was going to be a huge success. He didn’t let anything stop him, and all of his work ultimately paid off.

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

The main competency that I noticed in Jobs was his ability to think abstractly, which I believe was vital in his journey to success with apple. He even experimented with drugs such as LSD because he claims that it helped him think of some of his best ideas that turned into huge successes.

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

One part of the reading that was confusing to me was why and how Jobs was fired from his own company. I feel like there was more to the story than the book was telling.

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

I would ask what Jobs’ did during the time that he doubted himself and thought, “what if this didn’t work” and also why he dropped out of college. I think these are insightful questions that can help anyone when working toward a goal if they are ever unsure of themselves.

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

I think that Jobs realized the importance of hard work from the get go, but he was also efficient. I share the same opinion. Hard work is very important, and the more efficient you are, the more work you can get done.