📚 Steve Jobs, 15 Reading Tips From Mark Manson, and more.

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👋 Hey everyone,

Here are a few popular posts you may have missed:

• 15 Reading tips from bestselling author Mark Manson.

• The habit that changed billionaire investor Charlie Munger’s life.

• Why you should stop feeling guilty about your unread book pile.

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📚 Book Summary:

This week’s book is “Steve Jobs In Exile” by Geoffrey Cain.

Everyone knows Steve Jobs as the legendary cofounder and CEO of Apple. But in 1985, Jobs was essentially kicked out of Apple. The next 12 years were some of the most difficult, but also most transformational for Jobs.

If you enjoyed “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson, you’ll love this book.

Here are 3 lessons from the book:

📖

1) The Worst Thing To Ever Happen To You Might Actually Be The Best Thing

Steve Jobs cofounded Apple when he was just 21 years old.

By 1985, he helped build Apple into a $1 billion company. But that same year, Jobs was basically kicked out of his own company.

At that time, Jobs was devastated. He was 30 years old and thought he’d spend the rest of his life at Apple.

He could’ve been resentful and spent the rest of his life drinking mai tais on a beach in the Bahamas. But if he did that, he likely wouldn’t have been very happy. And it’s likely history would’ve soon forgotten him, and Apple would not be the amazing company we know and love today.

Instead of crying about it, Jobs got to work and started a new company called NeXT Computers. And a year later, he also cofounded an animation studio.

It took over 10 years of eating dirt and glass for Jobs to turn those two companies into a success, but through his determination and relentless work ethic, he pulled through.

Along the way, Jobs also became a better manager, recruiter, CEO, and leader.

Jobs ended up selling NeXT to Apple for $427 million, which personally made him over $150 million. And that animation company he helped build was the legendary Pixar Studios, which he took public and made $1.2 billion from its IPO.

Today, Jobs is a permanent historical figure in both the technology and movie industries.

So maybe getting kicked out of his company wasn’t a bad event, maybe it was actually the best thing that could’ve ever happened to him.

📖

2) Building A Startup Is Ridiculously Hard

Although NeXT and Pixar ended up having successful outcomes, the road to get there was not an easy one.

In 1991, NeXT was nearing bankruptcy. It had burned through $100 million of capital.

Steve Jobs had to fly to Tokyo to convince Canon to invest another $40 million into the business, or the startup would fail.

Then just a year later in 1992, NeXT was once again on the brink of bankruptcy. Jobs needed another $20 million investment from Canon within 3 days, or it would fail.

NeXT lost money for 9 years straight. By 1994, over $150 million had been invested in the company, but it only made a measly $1 million in profit.

Pixar also had its fair share of struggles. Jobs had to personally invest over $50 million of his own money to keep it afloat.

And that’s just the financial hardship. Jobs had to deal with cofounders and executives constantly quitting, products constantly failing, and intense competition from established companies like Microsoft.

Building companies was highly rewarding, but it’s important to remember that these ventures are also high-risk.

📖

3) Pivot, Pivot, Pivot

There’s a saying that “change is the only constant in life."

The same is true for businesses. If you aren’t changing, evolving, or pivoting, you’re going to get left behind.

When Jobs first started NeXT, his plan was to build a computer for universities and academics.

However, the computer ended up being ridiculously expensive and riddled with a wide range of problems.

During the early years of NeXT, Jobs refused to sell the computers to government agencies. However, a few years later when the company was severely struggling, Jobs had to pivot in order for the business to survive, and sold computers to the CIA, NSA, and several other government branches.

Because the manufacturing and maintenance of the computers was such an issue, Jobs then pivoted the company to focus on creating software and even renamed the company from NeXT Computers to NeXT Software.

After being acquired by Apple and becoming the CEO of the company once again, Jobs pivoted the company by shutting down 70% of the product line to focus on the 30% of their products that were the best or most promising.

Life is constantly changing. If you or your business want to become successful, you must also pivot and adapt.

✅ Actionable Advice:

1) The worst thing to ever happen to you might actually become the best thing to ever happen to you (such as this bike crash that led me to start Alex & Books).

2) Building a startup is high risk, but it’s also high reward.

3) If a project or business isn’t working, consider pivoting it and moving in a new direction.

💎 Weekly Gem:

Documentary: The Dark Wizard

This documentary is an adrenaline rush and deeply emotional at the same time.

It’s about Dean Potter, the man who revolutionized free soloing (climbing without any rope and freebase climbing (climbing with a parachute). And his struggles with mental health along the way.

It’s also by the same team that made two other amazing films: The Alpinist and The Dawn Wall.

If you’re looking for something exciting and moving to watch, I highly recommend this documentary.

Your opinion matters!

Thank you for your support,

Alex W.