True visionaries come around once in a great while. I’m talking about those who not only envision the future, but actually make things that seem impossible come to life.
I’m not one of those people. Oh sure, I have had my share of great ideas. My challenge is in believing that I could actually make a seemingly far-fetched idea a reality.
Some of my more ‘visionary’ ideas came during childhood. Walking home from school was a huge pain to me and my friends. It wasn’t more than 8 blocks, although it was hilly, we were in the Texas heat and I was usually carrying books and a lunch box. It seemed like the most arduous task, this walk. To pass time, we’d let our imaginations wander. I remember wishing that cars would have refrigerators in them so I could always have a cold drink. Maybe they could have a place for snacks too, so I wouldn’t pass out from starvation. Even a TV to pass the time during family road-trips.
I thought it was fun to dream, but this wasn’t something that would happen. Or at least I couldn’t figure out how to make it happen.
While most cars don’t have refrigerators, they do have drink holders. Wish I could take responsibility for having made that happen! And video screens in cars are almost old-school. Even more fun is the wireless connectivity that enables us to have a phone conversation through the car stereo speakers. I’m pretty sure this was thought up by a kid walking home from school as well.
Even if I’m not one of them, I appreciate the genius that true visionaries share with the rest of the world.
We recently lost one of these rare individuals. Watching the news story about Steve Jobs’ life, it was eerie to watch a clip of him from 20+ years ago as he told us what we wanted, when even we didn’t know we wanted it.
Steve Jobs said we wanted “full-color screens” and that we wanted to watch full-motion video. Back when he made these crazy statements, I was just happy to have a desk-top computer. Steve had the vision that our electronic devices not only should work well but should also be stylish and come in a variety of colors instead of black. Little did I know that I would become addicted to Mr. Jobs’ creations.
Most of us just learned the “behind the scenes” story of Steve Jobs’ life. That he was adopted. That as a kid he was a trouble-maker. That he dropped out of college due in part to financial constraints. Apparently one of the most successful people in world had set-backs, including being ousted from the company that he founded.
Ouch. That’s got to hurt.
Being the true visionary that he was, Steve apparently chose to look forward instead of licking his wounds, moving on to different opportunities including Pixar. Lucky for us, huh? I’d hate to think of Woody and Buzz Lightyear in the old, flat two-dimensional cartoon format.
We can all talk about how impressive Mr. Jobs’ vision was, how impressive his intelligence was, how impressive that he made money, etc. You know what is most impressive to me, and something that I can actually use in my own life? His “never give up” attitude.
When he couldn’t afford college, he kept on trying. When he was ousted from Apple, he found a new opportunity. When he was diagnosed with cancer, he fought back and kept moving forward. For much of his career, this was all done in the public eye. How tough is that?
Those of us in lay-off land can learn from Steve Jobs. True, we may not be the visionary that he was. But we can pick ourselves up and move forward. We can fight for what we want. We can envision ourselves in a new opportunity. And we can try to maintain a positive attitude.
The legacy of Steve Jobs will be forever in the history books. Online books, of course. Read on an Apple device.
© Tami Cannizzaro 2011 All Rights Reserved
Like Tami, I was terminated once (By my best friend, BTW – he is now on the board of the agency I lead, so I got him back – ha!), but you don’t have to be unemployed to learn something from this book. 
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