When I hear the word innovator my mind immediately thinks of the world of technology. I understand that there are innovators in all fields and professions, but my mind always takes me to where computers, cell phones, televisions, etc. were born. To get started, it's important to understand what an innovator or creator is. Simply, someone who creates something new or improves on an existing idea to make it better. Innovators are everywhere around us, in the simple sense of your neighbor building a new shelf in his garage for masterminds like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs. I find Apple and Steve Jobs extremely interesting, as his story is so interesting and shows so much resilience. Where would the world be without Steve Jobs, the innovative genius behind the multinational technology company Apple? It's true, the place would be very different if we didn't have the technological advances we have today. We can thank a brilliant innovator for this, Steve Jobs. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Steve Jobs was born in 1955 in San Francisco, California, to parents who would soon give him up for adoption. Jobs' adoptive parents moved to what is now better known as Silicon Valley, but as early as the 1950s semiconductor companies populated the area, which gave Jobs the chance to play and tinker with different electronics and devices . Jobs' passion and love was born then. Jobs wanted to attend Reed College in Portland, Oregon, even though his parents couldn't afford it. Once he got to college, Jobs struggled because he lacked direction and ultimately dropped out just six months later. After dropping out, Jobs discovered a new passion for Eastern philosophy and psychedelic drugs and eventually moved into a hippie commune. A few years passed and Jobs got a new job at Atari, a video game manufacturer. His new venture into video games didn't last long as he quit his job shortly after. Steve Wozniak is another important innovator who worked alongside Jobs and is vital to the success of Jobs and Apple Inc. Wozniak and Jobs grew up together, although Wozniak was a few years older than Jobs. Wozniak loved electronics and spent a lot of time studying and exploring computers, software, radios, etc. The two became fast friends as they shared the same passion, work ethic and motivation. Around 1975, Wozniak had a goal of creating his own personal computer, which meant he would have to build his own computer board. Wozniak was intellectually gifted and educated enough to realize his dream of building his own computer board. Jobs soon noticed Wozniak's brilliant and exceptional talent and soon realized that they could use their hobby. Jobs realized that Wozniak's invention could easily be sold to those who had no desire to assemble a computer but wanted to write software. On April 1, 1976, Apple Computer was born with a little coaxing from Jobs to Wozniak. Jobs and Wozniak spent much of their time over the next few months creating boards for their "Apple I" computers in Jobs' garage. Even though they had just started a company and were working on their first project, Wozniak was already ahead of his time and had created “Apple II,” a computer with color graphics. The two men quickly realized that they were dealing with something special and extremely profitable. Not long after, Jobs began looking for lenders and financing options. The men received a $250,000 investment in theJanuary 1977 which allowed them to continue creating. Apple sold their Apple I computer for $666.66 and sold $774,000 in revenue. However, once improvements were made and the Apple II was created, nearly three years later, the company earned nearly $139 million, a 700% increase. Later in his career, Jobs created the “Lisa” computer, a device that he was sure would be a success. However, after years of work, the product never took off. Jobs was so focused on other projects and his own success that in 1985 he was phased out of the company, leaving only its president. He was so upset and disheartened that he sold all but one of his Apple shares and continued working on other projects. In his time away from Apple, Jobs created a software company called NeXT. Ironically, in 1996 Apple purchased NeXT for $439 million. These are just a few of the many examples where Job faced adversity yet continued to follow his passion for innovation and creation. When a door closed for Jobs, he always found a new way to do things and never got discouraged. As mentioned above, Jobs grew up in what is now the infamous Silicon Valley. Growing up in a city where semiconductor companies were popular, he had experiences with technology and other gadgets that others might not have. Tinkering with these toys at a young age later resulted in a trillion-dollar career. Jobs was only twenty-one when Apple was created, which hindered him in many ways as he interacted and dealt with many people much older than him. Furthermore, compared to Wozniak, Jobs was inexperienced with computers and other technologies. Wozniak had gone to school at the University of California at Berkeley while Jobs did not attend school for more than six months. In many ways, Jobs struggled with his lack of experience, but he made up for it with his entrepreneurial skills and innovative spirit. I choose to research Steve Jobs and his success at Apple for a multitude of reasons. As I sit here writing on my MacBook Pro, with my new iPhone XR in hand and Apple Watch on my wrist, I realize how important and life-changing an innovator Jobs was. I truly believe that our society would be a very different place if Jobs hadn't chased his dream in his parents' garage. Jobs and Apple Inc kicked off innovation and technological advancements and truly set the tone for the future. Grudin created his “ethic of inspiration” which shares what an individual must do to find inspiration. According to Grudin, inspiration is not something someone deserves but rather something they should earn. I think this applies perfectly to Jobs. Jobs never remained stagnant or hoped for something to happen to him. Rather, he went out, created, and continued to improve products and ideas to continue to innovate. Once he achieved success, Jobs didn't just stop and move forward throughout his life, he continued to expand his companies, ideas, and products. Lubert stated that creativity is the ability to produce work that is new or original and that is useful and satisfies a need in everyday life. Jobs created the Apple I to fill a consumer need, creating a product for technology users who didn't want to build their own personal computer but wanted to write their own software. For each product, Jobs continued to evaluate a problem, whether it was creating a device to hold and play music, a touch screen tablet that could connect to the Internet and use different applications, etc. Jobs follows Lubert's wisdom to the letter. Although Jobs had initially.
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