[zealoushacker]

With respect, I submit my comments/arguments:

> I don't think his "philosophy of life" is very practical for average people.

I think that the notion of people as "average" is the root of the problem. There are no average people. There are individuals, whom may choose to become average by leading an average life. There are other individuals, whom may choose or be coerced into being less than average. And on the other side of average, you have those who by virtue of their choices and the guidance they receive from their mentors, choose to live a better than average life - and follow all or part of the "philosophy of life" that Jobs espoused.

>My point is that what worked for him doesn't work for most people.

It can work, if people choose to live life based on such a philosophy.

>If you are a person like Steve Jobs in an average position, you're looking at a string of 6- to 12-month jobs and eventual unemployment once your CV looks like Ypres.

There are two issues with this statement: average by whose measure, and whether one chooses to be average.

>otherwise, you'll be mired in mediocrity because that's what most people like and want. But if you're a normal person who has to pay the bills, to throw all of that social stupidity to the wind is putting the cart a bit before the horse.

I despise mediocrity with a passion. I hire people based on the best that they offer, and fire them based on what they don't. And I know plenty of people who think similarly. It is how I've lived my life.

>But if you're a normal person who has to pay the bills, to throw all of that social stupidity to the wind is putting the cart a bit before the horse.

I completely agree that it is "social stupidity" - and that is why I spend hours rooting it out by sharing posts like these :)

[michaelochurch]

By "average", I meant "of average means". Whether there are "average people" is a silly argument. When I said "average people", I meant "people of average means".

If "average people" means "people of average talent and ambition", then we're talking about people who neither have the talent nor desire to do what Jobs did, so the discussion's irrelevant.

[jwallaceparker]

Doesn't the life of Steve Jobs discredit your argument?

From what I understand of his life story, he came from "average means" and achieved his success through his own creative capabilities.

[michaelochurch]

From what I understand of his life story, he came from "average means" and achieved his success through his own creative capabilities.

Ok, I agree with what you are saying, but a few things are worth attention.

First, he made a very smart decision. He started working before he had to, which meant that he could start attacking problems that interested him and working in ways that would enable him to grow right away. This may be a "secret" advantage of dropping out of college; you can start working before you have to do so because of social expectations, and therefore you get to do better work. Having to work is one of the biggest obstacles most people face in their working lives, because it means they can't concentrate on the best work.

Second, the 1970s in Silicon Valley was an atypical time when a 20-year-old nobody was taken seriously by highly influential people. That era has come and gone. The only 20-year-olds who can get sit-down meetings with partners at Sequoia in 2011 are those with rich parents. We may have a more open society in the geographical aggregate, but our world is much more closed than Northern California was in the 1970s.