My Celebrity Crush

{ One day per month each member in my Facebook group, #GenFab, posts an article on a common title. We then bundle our pieces together, share links and drive traffic for each other. February’s topic is “Celebrity Crush”. Here is my contribution. }

My Celebrity Crush.

Not sure if it’s the long-sleeve black turtleneck or the Levi’s 501 jeans. Maybe it’s the old sneakers that float my boat.

Most women fall in love with good-looking stars like George Clooney and Denzel Washington. I swoon over a tech nerd.

I first became infatuated with Steve Jobs on January 22, 1984, while watching the Super Bowl. This is what did it: “1984”

A few years later I read John Sculley’s book, Odyssey: Pepsi to Apple. That’s when I became obsessed. Mr. ‘Wingtip’ Sculley criticized Jobs for his non-linear corporate culture. How could a bunch of scraggly creative people and engineers sit around a circle on the floor, in their jeans, spending hours batting ideas back and forth be operationally efficient, Sculley asked?

I thought Jobs’ plan was brilliant.

An advertising creative myself, I so wanted to work for him. Since that wasn’t in the cards, I tore out all of his ads, brought them into the office, taped them to our purple conference room wall, and instructed my jeans-wearing, floor-sitting staff that we were NOT to let any work outside our office that didn’t rival the edginess of Apple.

“Don’t fight the system,” “Well, that’s the way it’s always been,” are nauseating excuses for cowardness, in my opinion. Jobs never settled for status quo. He bucked the system, he had that ‘bad boy’ attitude toward The Establishment.

I loved that about him.

In 1997 he and his ad agency came up with the all-time best campaign, “Think Different.” Like you know the lyrics of your favorite song, I can still quote every line in the TV spot “Here’s To The Crazy Ones.”  

I am transformed every time I watch that video.

Steve Jobs, the consummate entrepreneur, infused his spirit into those around him. His aura, his energy spilled over into those who worked for him, those who invested in Apple, and those who bought his products. I still get pumped with healthy energy when I read about him, when I watch his speeches, when I surround myself with people as electric as Steve Jobs. (And let’s be honest, don’t we all get a big rush when we walk into an Apple store?)

I also admire a man – especially one so powerful – who will admit publicly that he is vulnerable. In the famous speech Jobs gave at Stanford University in 2005, he said being fired from Apple was the best thing that could have happened to him. “The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.” And he added, “I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful-tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it.”

Ya gotta admit, not many can hold a candle to Steve Jobs.

Despite being worth billions of dollars, I admired Steve Jobs because he was determined not to let money ruin his life. He lived in a sparsely decorated, modest house (by Palo Alto standards, of course). His garden had no walls and he didn’t even lock the front door, according to a close friend. He shunned the celebrity circuit, balked at the prices of clothing and on Halloween, went all out for the neighborhood kids, decorating his garden with fog and thunder machines.

Steve Jobs was the real deal.

In his book, Sculley tells how Jobs lured him out of a secure, lucrative position at Pepsi with this question:  “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?”

This innate genius not only recognized his God-given talents, but he took ownership of them. He used those tools to change the world. Yeah, we are all born with divine gifts but most of us make excuses why we can’t use them. Me included. “Wish I could afford to, not enough time, can’t because …” Steve Jobs blew every excuse out of his way and plowed right through them, indeed pushing the human race forward at break-neck speed.

He placed a great importance on his spirituality, again bucking political correctness with his choice of religions. He stayed true to his beliefs in both his personal as well as his business life.

I love that in a man.

Yeah, I know. Steve Jobs was a demanding perfectionist, sometimes petulant or abrasive. He refused to meet with investors. He allowed atrocious working conditions in his factories in China. He lied to Steve Wozniak. And gave no money to charity. Used LSD. Ok, maybe he wasn’t as perfect as I make him out to be.

But Steve Jobs was my hero. If I had to pick one person with whom I could spend an entire day, it would him, hands down.

To sum it up, from the words of his own TV spot, produced in 1997: . . . here’s to Steve Jobs:

“Here’s To The Crazy Ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the
square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have
no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the
human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world – are the ones who DO

 

31 Comments
  • Joanna
    Posted at 15:31h, 11 February

    I love mavericks, too! I get what you are saying. Who remembers conformists?

    • lisaweldon
      Posted at 20:59h, 11 February

      Right! who does remember the conformists!

  • conniemcleod
    Posted at 16:09h, 11 February

    Who doesn’t have a crush on the most creative visionary genius of our era! Great post.

    • lisaweldon
      Posted at 21:00h, 11 February

      …oh, thank you! Just sat down to read everyone’s posts. Can’t wait to read yours.

  • Donna Highfill
    Posted at 16:21h, 11 February

    I am so with you – when I read his biography, I loved him even more. You captured my favorite line of his — “The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything.” He took risks, he had courage, he was passionate, and he was brilliant. Excellent choice!

    • lisaweldon
      Posted at 22:17h, 11 February

      being stripped of that heaviness is a gift indeed. Only he would frame it that way, right? I’ve often wondered if that’s the Buddhist training…

  • Jane K.
    Posted at 16:51h, 11 February

    It’s still hard to believe he’s gone! Too soon, too soon.

    • lisaweldon
      Posted at 22:15h, 11 February

      Imagine what he’d done had he lived another 30 years.

  • Bonnie
    Posted at 17:21h, 11 February

    He truly did change the world and is one person I would have loved to have had dinner with. He was an amazing human being. Love, love, love “Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world – are the ones who do”

    • lisaweldon
      Posted at 22:14h, 11 February

      yeah, let’s keep thinking that way. maybe we can right some of the things that so desperately need changing.

  • Carpool Goddess (@CarpoolGoddess)
    Posted at 18:07h, 11 February

    Oh, yes, yes, yes. Major crush on Steve Jobs. Such a brilliant man. So sad that he died so young.

    • lisaweldon
      Posted at 22:18h, 11 February

      He lives on. Just walk into an Apple store and you can still feel his presence.

  • Helene
    Posted at 19:18h, 11 February

    Personally, I find techno geeks to be very sexy! Steve Jobs truly was a genius and he certainly did change the world. He’s a great choice for this blog hop topic.

    • lisaweldon
      Posted at 22:11h, 11 February

      they are, aren’t they?

  • Sharon Greenthal
    Posted at 22:01h, 11 February

    Geeks are hot. My husband is proof of that.

    • lisaweldon
      Posted at 22:09h, 11 February

      does he wear 501s?

  • joyweesemoll
    Posted at 23:25h, 11 February

    I love how inspired you are by his words and his career. Now you’ve inspired me!

  • lisaweldon
    Posted at 23:59h, 11 February

    If I’ve learned one thing from Steve Jobs it’s that anything is possible. I keep reminding myself of that…

  • Jane Gassner
    Posted at 03:33h, 12 February

    I got the chills when I read that last paragraph. There is something so sexy about that man.

    • lisaweldon
      Posted at 09:06h, 12 February

      There is, isn’t there! I wonder if men really know how turned on we women are by their ‘other parts’ – their mind, their soul, their character

  • Cathy
    Posted at 07:12h, 12 February

    I loved Steve Jobs, too. In his younger days I thought he was adorable. He was always brilliant, genius, calculating, honest and passionate. (Yes, he was cutthroat and not very nice – we read the book….) I drank the Kool-Aid by having every (affordable) Apple product and am amazed by their brilliance. He is the reason for them. He may be gone but he is always with us. Brilliant choice, Lisa. Totally and thoroughly brilliant.

    • lisaweldon
      Posted at 09:07h, 12 February

      Just got your text! YES, I am back in NYC in July. I would LOVE a walking partner.

  • Brenda @ MyMidlifeProject
    Posted at 07:30h, 12 February

    Wonderful choice! My husband and I listened to his biography on a long road trip this past summer. Coming from the geek world myself, I was enthralled by his creative energy and genius.

  • lisaweldon
    Posted at 09:10h, 12 February

    believe it or not I’ve not read his book yet. A friend just sent it to me after reading this post so am going to do the same as you, listed to it on a long trip that I have coming up.

  • Karen Austin
    Posted at 21:45h, 12 February

    His latest biography has been getting good reviews. This makes me want to take the next step and get a copy of the book. Thanks for the fangirly overview of his life. It’s a lot more detail than I had before reading.

  • Yvonne Wray
    Posted at 02:32h, 13 February

    We all over look the so-call flaws of our crushes, but this man did change the world for the better. I liked seeing him through your eyes. Thank you.

    Yvonne Wray recently posted…3 Things My Celebrity Crush Taught Me About Menopause

  • Caryn/The Mid Life Guru
    Posted at 00:17h, 16 February

    After I read his biography, I became a huge fan of Steve Jobs. There will never be another genius like him in our lifetime.

    • lisaweldon
      Posted at 09:38h, 16 February

      No, there won’t be. I think of others who have made such an impact in my lifetime and MLK is the only other one who comes to mind.

  • Grown and Flown
    Posted at 16:33h, 16 February

    Wonderful subject to have a crush on. I love that you saw the genius of Jobs in the advertising for Apple (and in other ways, too.) Well, done, Lisa!

  • June Corley
    Posted at 09:46h, 17 February

    This was such a great read! And I so agree…

    • lisaweldon
      Posted at 15:03h, 17 February

      oh, June! Remember the days . . . when we had an entire month to produce an ad? Now we have a couple of hours. Damn Steve Jobs and his computers! LOL