Tweet

Lesson #4: “You try every day to make it a little better”

Article Overview: Wozniak is unique not only in his tremendous talent for building computers, but in the way in which he works.

Lesson #4: “You try every day to make it a little better”

Wozniak is unique not only in his tremendous talent for building computers, but in the way in which he works. "Keys to happiness came to me that would keep me happy for the whole of my life," he says. "It was just accidental. I don't know how many people get it. It's like religion or something that just popped into my head, walking home from school."

What were those keys to Wozniak's happiness?

"One thing was knowing that I was good and believing that I was good and having a good belief about myself," he says. "The other was knowing that I could disagree with other people."

Knowing that he could disagree with other people was a powerful liberating force for Wozniak. "I had my own little thought in my head, and it was well structured and it was correct for me," he says. "And they could have their own. It's like the song says: ‘There ain't no good guy, there ain't no bad guy, there's only you and me and we just disagree.'"

It was a sort of stubbornness on Wozniak's part, and it gave him the confidence to pursue his ideas and his designs even when he might not have had any supporters. That confidence was also bolstered by a third key to his happiness: Wozniak knew from a young age exactly what he wanted to do when he was older.

"When I was doing this work well, I didn't have a wife or a girlfriend," he says. "I couldn't do anything else."

His personal life might have suffered, but it was a price he was willing to pay to do his work well. "The way I work requires so much concentration," he says. "Getting to know the problem well enough by thinking, thinking, thinking, thinking. And then you try every day to make it a little better, go through it again and again, cutting something off here or there."

Today, Wozniak has distanced himself from his first love. He no longer spends his days pouring over new designs, new software, new features. But there is still one aspect of the industry that interests him, and it is at the level of the user - the young user. Wozniak teaches elementary students the joys of computing, and gives them the space to possibly discover the still unknown, the space to look at his work with a fresh mind. That is where he finds excitement today.

"Do you miss designing computers?" he was recently asked. "I miss it," he replies, "but I don't want to do it."

He may not want to do it, but Wozniak still wants to make the industry better. He does not believe that the typical user necessarily wants a more powerful computer with more features. Instead, he believes they want efficiency, simplicity, and elegance. And, perhaps it is the next student who walks into his classroom who will be able to bring just that.

Related Articles
  Who Is Your Proud Family?
  Three Marketing Lessons from Realtors
  The Gravity of Failure
  Entrepreneur – How Not To Have A Bad Employee?
  What Does Your Gut Say?
  Selling swimming pools is the same as selling what you sell
  The Highest Leverage Investment in a Business is...
  Getting Rich Is An Exact Science
  Manage Fear of Failure
  Losing The Deal - Yeah, It Does Happen To All Sales Professionals too!
  How A Game Of Rugby League Can Teach You To Make Your Online Business A Success.
  Leadership Lessons Heard
  Frustrated Network Marketer - Needs vs. Wants
  Start A Consulting Business And Build A Client Base With Autoresponders
  Build Your Confidence-Make More Sales
  A Confused Prospect Does Not Buy
  The Explanation Gap
  Leaders can’t afford to make mistakes
  Teaching Old Skiers New Tricks
  An Indexing Filing System Software Will Help Professors and Teachers with Paper Files

Article Tags: belief, br, building computers, concentration, confidence, first love, girlfriend, keys to happiness, new features, new software, personal life, religion, stubbornness, those keys, walking home from school, wozniak



Related Forum Posts
Dan Kennedy Marketing Methods - We haven't sent out the physical letter yet as the person owning the list wanted to make modifications to the letter that we knew would work well but the List owner had a point - it didn't reflect her personality so her clients would know it didn't come from her. Lesson learned for me. We're back to the drawing board with the list owner more involved in the development of the letter and emails. I should have known better being a Business Analyst in my day job that you never leave the end-user out. So Evan we haven't had the opportunity to test any of it yet but it's been a fun process for me to stand back and look at.
Re: What would you like to see be invented? - I don't know why, but when I saw this thread I immediately thought of that Huey Lewis song, I want A New Drug. I want a new drug One that wont make me sick One that wont make me crash my car Or make me feel three feet thick I want a new drug One that wont hurt my head One that wont make my mouth too dry Or make my eyes too red Also, this new drug should not have worse side effects than the reason I have for taking it!! Tim
Creating a Website - Great suggestions Content is critical to make a site effective - as far as I'm concerned. The right content can make an affiilate site much better and can draw more traffic because you'll appeal to people who want to learn and who want to make a purchase. Shri
Re: New Year Resolutions... - I generally don't make resolutions - they just end up breaking anyway! But every January I do make a conscious effort to review my life and try to start over in areas that I've "fallen off the wagon" so to speak. One of my main goals at the moment is to become more active on the internet, and learn about how to make better business decisions.
Bright future who start early - You are at a pivotal point in your life. You may not realize it, but your mindset is great. Most kids your age are thrilled to get an under appreciated job working for some company to make a little spending cash. However, those who look to get into the business side early in life are usually the ones who become successful. What you do now, might not make you a rich kid, but you will pick up much more valuable experience that you can cash in, down the road. I would suggest you learn to make websites right away. It is a valuable tool that you will benefit from. You make a little cash making websites - the more experienced you get, the more money you can make. You don't need too much money to get started - seeing as you already have access to a computer. Making a website will get you thinking about business in general and it will lead to marketing, finance, and profit.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Multilevel Marketing: 4 Tips To MLM Success

Your Local Small Business Online Marketing Funnel

Avoid Burnout: Do the Limbo Regularly

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.