Steve Jobs: The Power of Storytelling
By Kamla Bhatt • Feb 4th, 2010Category: Business, Entrepreneur Interviews, Ideas, Living In America, San Francisco, Technology, Video
Steve Jobs clearly recognizes the power of storytelling.
A consummate marketer Jobs known the art of storytelling, and this Stanford Commencement address is a great example. “I have 3 stories to share,” he says in his introduction. The 3 stories seem to map to birth, life/love and death. The cycle of life. Jobs apparently subscribes to Buddhist teachings and perhaps that informed his storytelling?
In the commencement speech he talks about his birth, adoption, attempts to study in college (thanks Hare Krishna temple for the free food), getting fired from Apple and fighting cancer. Note how he uses simple words to get his point across.
Here is what resonated with me, and I am sure if you listened to the speech you will find these to resonate with you too.
“You have got to find what you love.”
“None of this would have happened if I had been fired from Apple.”
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you have not found yet, keep looking…Keep looking, don’t settle.”
And finally here is the punch line: Stay hungry, and stay foolish.
Great advice, a bit difficult to follow, but good points to hang on to when you are going through a rough patch.
“Don’t let other opinion to drown out your inner voice.”
So, I am staying hungry, and staying foolish and listening to my inner voice and continue to explore and find those stories that remain untold. These are stories of inspiration, motivation, and of how someone got started, who influenced them and why they do what they do. My goal is to tell stories with a context or to use an oft-repeated marketing term: 360 view of the person. It is hard, it is challenging, but I love it. I know creating long content pieces is not fashionable or “the thing” to do, but I also know that a good, absorbing conversation always resonates with people. Thanks for listening and for your support.