Steve Jobs and the Achievable American Dream

An amazing man once said: "We don't get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? And we've all chosen to do this with our lives. So it better be damn good. It better be worth it (Viticci)." This mans name was Steve Jobs. From a young boy, Jobs had a difficult life, but he overcame all that to live his American Dream. Riddled with the trials and tribulations of adoption, no college education, and cancer he conquered all obstacles. When Jobs and his partner founded Apple Inc. on April 1st, 1976, he was not in it for the money, but to help people and to improve technology (Belopotosky). Steve Jobs achieved the American Dream and the technology of Apple Inc. continues to help others reach their dreams.

Steven P. Jobs was born on February 24th, 1955 and adopted the same day by Paul and Clara Jobs. He graduated high school in 1972, after which he attended Reed College for less than a semester before dropping out and getting his first job at Atari with his friend Steve Wozniak. The men continued to work in computer engineering and eventually created Apple Inc. which was run out of Jobs' parents house in Los Altos, California. The company began to come out with many computers, the first (called Apple I) having wood paneling to cover the circuitry. Then came computers Apple II, Lisa and the first Macintosh. While that was occurring, Apple went public and began to make its way into schools. On September 17, 1985 Jobs resigns from Apple to only create his new company, NeXT, that same year. This company would not have success and in his absence, Apple would produce Macintosh II. Taking a new step in his life Jobs married Laurene Powell on March 18th 1991. After this he purchased Pixar from George Lucas before its release of Toy Story. This movie was responded to with much enthusiasm and general acclaim (Belopotosky). In 1996, Apple bought NeXT in turn returning Jobs back to his original position of running the company within a year. The invention of the original iPod helped save the then-struggling company (Griggs). Throughout the rest of his time as a C.E.O. at Apple, the company would release many new, useful products to the world of technology and enter the retail market. On July 31, 2004 Jobs was treated for cancer, a disease he would struggle with for the rest of his life. Jobs died on October 5, 2011 leaving a lifelong legacy of technology and excellence. The relevance of his life story ties back into the idea that one aspect of the American Dream is rising from nothing and overcoming obstacles to become something. His life encourages others to chase their dreams by inspiring them to never give up and his technological advancements make it easier for them to set and achieve goals.

The technology of Apple helps people in many ways. In a survey I conducted of high school students at South Jefferson School, students answered questions about their Apple product usage and how it affects them in reaching their goals. Of the fifty students surveyed, 36% rated Apple products as a five out of five when asked how important the products were to their lives. Of the same group 38% used Apple devices more than three hours every day and 58% responded yes when asked if the devices help them achieve their goals (Williams "English"). These numbers exemplify high school students reliance on technology, but they are not the only ones using iPods and other Apple technology. Research has shown that runners can run farther and faster by using certain apps on their iPhones or iPods. These apps help runners to count mileage, plot routes and entertain you (Wingfield). In my personal experience running with an iPod, it has been very helpful. It has helped me to get through long, ominous runs on tricky routes and reach my goal time.

Apple is instrumental in helping people be successful in the job world as well. Cisco Systems is a titanic company that builds equipment that runs the largest networks in the world. Joseph J. Williams, a technical solutions architect for Cisco, agreed to answer some questions about the American Dream and how Apple